Silent One
by Destyni Daydreamweaver
Summary: Piccolo gives birth to a handicapped child. This is the story of how he copes with it.
1. Silent One: Chapter 1

A/N: I am rather new to DBZ, and have only seen it to the end of the Freeza saga. Forgive me if anybody is OOC…I'm trying to portray them as close as possible to the way I've seen them act on the show. I've also never written before….at least nothing that I've written has been put up. Please review so I know whether I "stink" or "shine" as my parents say. ^_^ I suppose you could call this fic alternate universe. Well anyway, here we go!

Silent One  
Chapter 1

The air was alive with electricity. Lightning flashed overhead, as if some massive beast were ripping the sky open with its claws. Thunder roared across the valley and echoed off the mountains like the voice God Himself. The trees all bowed down to the whims of the wind as rain beat everything into submission.

A lone figure staggered through the valley, the wind blowing the rain into his face and onto his body. Lightning flashed to illuminate a hint of dark purple, a hint of navy blue, a lot of green, almost as much white and bits of pink and red. Another flash illuminated a pair of dark onyx eyes. Cloth fabric whipped in the wind as a tall shadow fell over a rock. 

In the midst of the storm, Piccolo fell against the rain-battered rock, clutching his chest in pain. His cape fell around him in folds, almost giving him the appearance of a wounded dove with broken wings. The rain was running down his face like tears, giving his green skin a sparkling sheen, and the thunder drowned out his hollers and curses of pain.

Water. He needed to find the waterfall. Dragging his eyes open again, Piccolo slowly rose and staggered like a blind man towards the waterfall, reaching it after what seemed like miles. He collapsed next to the water and plunged his hand into it's cool depths, ignoring the lightning flashing above him and the rain that relentlessly pelted him as he took a long drink. Almost as soon as he swallowed the last drop, Piccolo felt his innards contract and started to vomit until he had regurgitated everything right back up again. He lied there, panting for a few moments as a few false-alarm dry heaves cruised up his gullet, then stood up and looked up towards the sky.

"What is happening to me!?" He cried out to the storm, getting no reply and not expecting one. The words left his mouth in a hoarse cry, and it took the last of his strength. As soon as Piccolo spoke the words, lightning struck a tree near him and sparks flew. He collapsed into unconsciousness from the pain, the thud of his body hitting the ground dulled by a loud thunderclap as smoldering debris rained down around him and the flames of the stricken tree illuminated his rain-soaked features.

  
Gohan awoke early, having slept through the storm because of his training. He used to be scared to death of thunderstorms, but not anymore. After all, Piccolo had made himself something more worthy of being afraid of then a stupid noise from the sky anyway.

For a moment as he lied there in bed, Gohan thought of his "second father", and how he'd changed his whole way of living. Sure, Piccolo was tough, cold and mean at times. But he could also be a really nice guy when he wanted to be. Piccolo let him stay up as late as he wanted. He never made him study, except for spars, but at least spars were fun to Gohan now. Books got boring after awhile, but Piccolo always had something new and interesting to try out.

"I'll go see him!" Gohan said aloud with a smile, jumping out of bed and climbing into his gi, which looked like a miniature version of the one Piccolo wore. "Wait…I can't just go running out. Mom would notice. Looks like I'll have to sneak out. Sorry mom…" He cast a sorrowful glance to his bedroom door before climbing out the window and breaking into a run towards the valley.

Piccolo was still lying where he passed out the night before when Gohan entered the valley. In fact, Gohan was going and looking in every place he thought Piccolo would be. The river was the last place he looked, and the second Gohan saw his teacher down, he ran to his side. The Namekian man was just lying there on his stomach, his turban having come halfway off when he hit the ground and allowing one of his slender green antennae to poke out from underneath. One of his arms was submerged up to the elbow in the stream, the skin on his fingertips having become wrinkled from being underwater for so long. His cape was lying in wrinkled folds over his muscular body with soot from the burning tree covering it. It made him look almost fragile, the way he seemed so vulnerable.

Gohan grabbed one of Piccolo's shoulderpads, pulled with all his might and managed to roll him onto his back. "Mr. Piccolo! Are you OK? Mr. Piccolo!" His voice rose higher in pitch with each sentence as he shook his sensai.

Piccolo didn't move, even when Gohan risked pinching his nostrils(a trick he only got to try once and got quite beaten for later!). When that didn't work, Gohan put his hands on Piccolo's chest to shake him harder, and just as quickly snatched his hands away when he felt something. He blinked and lifted the bit of white fabric that covered Piccolo's chest to look at what he had felt a moment ago. What he saw caused him to grimace and look away momentarily.

There was a huge lump in Piccolo's chest. It was stretching his sternum way out of proportion, and Gohan could literally see the bone and veins through the skin because of the bulge, which moved slightly with his heartbeat. Reaching down, the young boy pressed down on the lump to see if it would move. It did, but barely, and it was rock hard. The pressure also roused Piccolo slightly, and he gave a faint groan of pain as he groggily slapped Gohan's hand away. He was unconscious again before his hand even impacted the boy's.

"Mr. Piccolo?!" Gohan shook him when he saw him move. He got no other response, so he knew he had no choice.

Struggling with all his might, Gohan hefted Piccolo over his shoulder and held onto him with both arms as he returned home. The weight slowed and tired him a lot, but he kept going anyway. _Man! I wish dad was here. He's a lot stronger and faster then I am._

  
  
Chichi was very upset, and the broken dishes on the kitchen floor were proof enough. She was pacing back and forth over the broken glass when she finally spotted Gohan landing outside. When she saw that he had Piccolo, fear was added to her angry emotions as she charged outside like a ruptured duck.

"Where have you been!? What is going on here!? Why is Piccolo here!?"

"Mom! Please! He's sick and I don't know where else to take him!" Gohan panted, exhausted from carrying Piccolo so far.

Chichi sighed and put her hands on her hips, "Oh, all this insanity is going to give me wrinkles! I'll let you take him inside, but if there's any sign that he's going to do something rude or cruel, he is out! Do you understand me?" Her voice rose in pitch with each word until it became an almost unbearable screech.

"Yes, mom." Gohan said tiredly as he hefted Piccolo over his shoulder, half-carrying, half-dragging him to the large couch and until he could set him down on the soft cushions. Then he sat down and panted, exhausted.

Piccolo was starting to come around again, making himself known by moving a little and groaning. "Ungh…" He grimaced and grabbed the lump on his chest hard, feeling as if someone were pounding a railroad spike into his sternum. Every movement was incredibly painful, but Piccolo managed to wriggle out of his cape and turban, tossing them on the floor and letting a sigh of half relief and half pain.

"Mr. Piccolo? What's wrong with you?" Gohan asked meekly, standing at the foot of the couch.

"I…" Piccolo's face contorted in pain for a moment, "…don't know." His hand clutched at the swollen lump under his sternum as if it were going to explode. Of course, there was no way of knowing whether or not it would. "It's been there for weeks." He doubled over, sitting up and leaning far over the edge of the couch as another nasty wave of dry heaves overcame him.

Gohan rushed to Piccolo's side and grabbed his shoulders to keep him from falling face first onto the floor. He waited for the retching to pass before asking, "Would water help?"

The Namekian shook his head, his slender antennae swinging listlessly from his forehead like dead plant stems. "I just puke it back up."

"Gohan!" Chichi snapped from the doorway, waving a wooden spoon around like a weapon. "Get to your room and study! Right now!" She looked at Piccolo, "And you! No getting up and walking around, you understand?"

Gohan cringed, "Yes, mother." He looked at Piccolo, "I'll be back later."

Piccolo pretended not to hear Chichi and managed a half-smirk for Gohan. "See ya kid." He waited until Gohan was gone before allowing the pain to contort his face again.

__

He really is sick…Chichi thought to herself as she watched the panting, sweaty Namek try to relax on her couch again. The lump in his chest seemed pretty nasty looking too, and she couldn't help but move closer to inspect it. The instant she reached down to touch it, however, Piccolo's hand snapped out and grabbed her wrist.

"Don't." Was all he said, and Chichi backed off with a small gulp.

__

All this worrying is going to give me wrinkles! She thought as she winced and returned to the kitchen to finish cooking and clean up the shattered dishes.

  
Day turned to night, and Piccolo didn't improve at all. In fact, he had gotten worse, and was retching almost constantly. Chichi had left a large bowl next to the couch so that he wouldn't have to force himself into the bathroom, but Piccolo hadn't needed it.

A blast of pain woke the Namekian from a sound sleep, and he jerked into a sitting position just in time to start into an even stronger fit of dry heaving. Piccolo fell back onto the couch again, too exhausted to sit up and the pain only worsened. Sweat dripped down the side of his face, his body started to shake and he couldn't stop gasping for air.

__

Kami Almighty! If I'm gonna die then just let me die already! He thought as he tried to stand up. His knees wobbled, then gave way, and he fell onto his hands and knees. Tears ran out of his eyes from the pain as it started to come in waves. It was like something inside was swelling or rupturing. The dull, but agonizing pain was starting in the area where the lump was and radiating up to his jaw. Every heartbeat brought more pain, more retching and more silent tears.

The beads of sweat on Piccolo's forehead glistened as he slowly crawled towards the bowl, making every effort not to let the pain cause him to sob. He dug his nails into the floorboards, no longer caring what sort of damage he did to the house as another powerful wave of retching came over him. Only this time, near the very last heave, Piccolo felt something very sour and slippery run out of his mouth. Looking into the bowl, he could see a slimy yellow liquid settling into the bottom. The next wave came over him, causing another blast of pain as blood joined the slimy yellow fluid.

"What now?" Piccolo asked himself hoarsely through the sour taste of the ooze and his own blood, small dribbles running down his pointed chin.

His answer came in a wave of pain so powerful that he cried out involuntarily. The cry was quickly cut off, changing to a gurgle and then silence as something started to swell in his throat.

Gohan, with his wild hair totally disheveled, jerked awake when he heard Piccolo's muffled cry and threw aside his bedsheets. Momentarily amazed that the noise didn't wake his mother, he ran out into the living room to find Piccolo lying on the floor, curled into a ball. The Namekian was clutching his throat with one hand and his chest with the other, his body seeming to twitch like a dying insect. A yellowish fluid mixed with blood was oozing from his mouth, forming a puddle on the floor around his head as he pressed his sweaty cheek against the cold wooden panels and squeezed his eyes shut. His breathing was extremely labored, almost non-existent as his muscular chest and back heaved.

"M-Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan whispered, drawing in a quick breath and moving to Piccolo's side. He watched Piccolo's glazed, bloodshot eyes open to look at him.

Piccolo opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out when he moved his mouth. The only word that ever escaped his throat was Gohan's name. Then the waves of retching became more intense. He felt Gohan scoot closer, but he put his hand up to tell him to stay back, not knowing what he might do while in this state. Piccolo felt his body involuntarily jerk in a deep breath, and then his airway seemed to be pinched off. Another powerful, prolonged wave of painful retching followed, and he could feel everything in his body squeezing and pushing against a singular point. The slimy, blood-tinged yellow ooze was flowing freely from his mouth, just as easily as water is poured from a pitcher into a glass.

Gohan's eyes widened and he scooted back, whimpering as he saw Piccolo's eyes seem to bulge out of his head from pain and possibly even fear. Loud, gurgling gag-like noises filled the silence as Piccolo managed to sit on his knees, still doubled over until his forehead touched the floor, his mouth falling open. Something had caused his neck to swell, and for a second it reminded Gohan of the way a snake looks right after it eats. 

Piccolo screamed a silent scream as the prolonged wave of retching had forced his throat shut. The lack of oxygen was starting to make him a little woozy, and the world suddenly seemed unreal. He rocked drunkenly as the strongest wave of retching he would ever feel in his life overcame him.

Scared out of his mind, Gohan watched Piccolo suddenly crane his neck, his entire body seeming to grow stiff. A strange convulsion seemed to ripple up the Namekian's muscular green body, and the lump in his throat doubled in size almost instantly. Another convulsion rippled up his body, and the swelling moved forward, up behind his jaw. Gohan just stared with an open mouth. _What's happening to him!?_

"I'm gonna get my mom." Gohan started to get up, then felt Piccolo grab his arm. He took that as a no, so he squatted on the floor again next to his sick friend and wiped the tears out of his eyes. Then he heard a strange creaking sound and looked down at Piccolo again. Gohan just watched, about to scream, as the swelling that was in Piccolo's neck started to move forward. He looked away and covered his mouth, this time because his stomach was turning over. Remembering what he'd been told during the first fight with the Saiyans, the young boy gathered his courage and turned his eyes back to Piccolo.

Piccolo strained, clutching the swelling in his throat with one hand as it seemed to start to roll forward. More pain was added to what he was already in as the lump forced his jawbone out of its hinges. The lump hit his gag reflex, intensifying the retching even more. Sweat broke out all over his body as the final spasm forced whatever was in his throat into his mouth. Something slimy, smooth and shiny slid from Piccolo's gaping jaws and landed in his arms, followed by a gush of more slimy, blood-tinged yellow fluid. He didn't even see what it was, because all he could think to do was breathe as he forced his jaw back into normal position. Then his vision went dark as a brief unconsciousness claimed him. He slumped forward, the beads of sweat on his face and neck glistening in the faint light like thousands of sequins.

Realizing whatever was happening was over, Gohan warily moved to Piccolo's side. "Mr. Piccolo?" He asked quietly. There was no reply, except for exhausted breathing.

Gohan's voice seemed to rouse Piccolo, and he dragged his eyes open to look up at the boy. Never in his life had he ever felt so exhausted. He breathed for a moment, then managed to find his voice. "Gohan…"

"Are you OK? What happened to you? Something came out of your mouth, but I couldn't see what it was."

Piccolo's slender antennae gradually took on their usual half-erect position as he slowly dragged his upper body into an upright position and looked down, sweat dripping down his face. Gohan came closer too, and a look of shock came to his face. Piccolo had the same look of shock on his face when he realized what he was looking at. 

Lying in the Namekian man's lap was an oval-shaped, shiny white egg.

And it already had cracks in it.

__

To be continued…


	2. Silent One: Chapter 2

Author's note: Please read the first chapter before you read this one. Spoilers are no fun! ^_^

Silent One  
Chapter 2

"Why did you throw up an egg?" Gohan asked, blinking in confusion at the cracked egg in Piccolo's lap. He drew his thick eyebrows together and twisted his lips to the side in thought.

Equally baffled, Piccolo replied, "I…don't know. I didn't even know I could make one. Only Guru could, or so I thought." He looked at the cracks in the egg and noticed that they were leaking the same fluid that he'd been puking up before finally expelling the egg itself.

"What is going on out here?" Chichi asked sleepily from the doorway to the hall. She was wearing a purple bathrobe and matching slippers, and her eyes were still mostly shut. Her shiny sable hair had been put into some order, but a few loose strands were still sticking up a little.

"Mom! Piccolo had an egg!" Gohan jumped up, leaving Piccolo to grumble about kids and their big mouths.

"Oh, that's nice - " Chichi turned to go back down the hall, then what was just said seemed to register in her brain. Her eyes snapped wide open and she wheeled around to face Gohan again. _"Nani!?!"_ She looked over at Piccolo and -sure enough- he was sitting on his knees, looking down at the egg on the floor in front of him. There was some kind of slime all over the floor around it, and she sighed mentally at the thought of the clean-up job that was going to be.

"Quiet!" Piccolo snapped, his large pointed ears pricked to a faint sound only he could hear. He watched the one crack split into several smaller ones. In a few minutes, the smooth off-white landscape of the egg's surface was covered in tiny canyons and valleys as the being within moved. Piccolo's onyx eyes blinked, then narrowed in confusion as he leaned his ear closer to see if he could hear anything inside.

"I think it's hatching." Gohan looked at Chichi and grinned, running a hand over his wild hair, despite the fact that it didn't do much to tame it.

"This isn't happening…" Chichi swayed drunkenly and wobbled down the hall to her room. "I'm going back to bed! This isn't happening…" The door clicked when she shut it.

Gohan sighed and shook his head, then went back over to Piccolo and squatted next to the egg, making sure he didn't get into any of the slime that was vomited up earlier. Strange as it seemed, the goo had turned into Jell-O…or at least something made of the same substance. Experimentally, Gohan poked at a small piece of it, watching it jiggle; it felt warm, almost alive. Then he glanced over at Piccolo's chest to see if the lump was gone. Sure enough, his teacher's powerful chest muscles were back to their normal shape, although a large purple bruise marked where the lump had been.

The silence was shattered by a creaking noise and a faint gasp from Piccolo. Indeed, even he was curious about why this had happened. He looked at Gohan and shrugged his large shoulders in response to his questioning look, then turned his attention back to the egg, his lips becoming a straight line across the lower part of his face. The cracking seemed to stop, and everything became deathly still for a time.

The pain from what had happened was starting to wear off, and Piccolo's cold side was starting to surface again. As if to complete his change back to "normal", the tall green figure assumed his usual cross-legged position, crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Gohan just blinked as another crack snaked its way around the egg. Piccolo's eyes snapped open again, and he turned to the egg just in time to see a hand burst through the largest crack, opening a crater in the egg's surface. Some of the shell clung to the wrinkled emerald skin as the hand withdrew once again. The egg did a half-roll as the hand poked out of the opening once again and started to push on the edge.

"Should we help it?" asked Gohan, almost unable to stand seeing the unborn Namek in distress.

"No." Piccolo replied sharply. "If he really wants out of there, he'll get out on his own." He turned his attention back to the egg once again. _I had no help when I was born, and I didn't have anybody either. I was always alone…_ "Gohan! Don't even touch it!" He added on when he saw Gohan reaching towards the crack-featured surface of the egg.

"But Piccolo! I don't think he can get out!" Gohan protested, a sorrowful look crossing his face. His lower lip stuck out slightly, and Piccolo gritted his teeth because he hated that look.

"Yes he can. Just give him time."

Sighing, Gohan sat down next to the egg and tried to peek into the hole. He couldn't see anything, so he finally just sat back and waited. The egg started to move again after a short time, another set of fingers joining the first, pushing themselves through the jagged hole and pushing outwards. Very faint grunts could be heard as the little Namek struggled. It was a determined little thing, that was for sure, and Piccolo took note of that as the little hands widened the hole.

__

Yes, little one. I know you can do it. He thought as he watched the crack widen further. Gohan's eyes were threatening to pop right out of his head, the way they were open so wide. Piccolo just smirked for a moment, then watched the egg again.

The unborn Namek stopped moving for a moment, then the fingers started to work again, pushing the hard eggshell away. Before long, the baby's head popped out of the hole, his toothless mouth agape as he gasped for fresh air. Slime from the inside of the egg kept his eyes squeezed shut and plastered his miniature antennae to his forehead. Gohan fell over on his back in surprise because it happened so suddenly. Piccolo just watched the baby like a hawk, hardly even blinking. It was starting to dawn on him that this child was his. His son. His own flesh and blood. And he didn't want to miss a moment of this new life.

"He looks like you Piccolo." Gohan grinned after studying the baby Namek's features. He was right too. The infant seemed to be a miniature version of his father.

"I'm not surprised." Piccolo muttered as the little one stopped gasping and started to struggle to get the rest of his tiny body out of the confining prison.

With a lot of effort, the baby Namek managed to wriggle out of the egg, tumble end over end and land with a wet slapping sound in front of Piccolo. Gohan blinked and crawled over so he could see the baby better. Piccolo just reached down, curled his fingers around one of the newborn's tiny ankles and lifted him up, watching the egg-slime drain from his nose and mouth. When he was sure the child's airway was clear enough, he set him down again gently and used the back of his hand to wipe the rest of the goo off his face.

Piccolo had to press his lips together to hide a smile when the child tried to bite his fingers. The infant's dark eyes opened as he looked out at the world for the first time. The first face he saw was Piccolo's, and almost immediately, he started imprinting. Something Piccolo never got a chance to do when he was born.

"Wow! He's cute!" Gohan started to laugh, then got up, ran into his room and returned with a blanket.

__

It's like looking in the mirror…the older Namek thought as he looked at the younger one. He took the blanket and used it to clean the rest of the baby off, then wrapped him in it to keep him warm for the time being. Already, the child had fallen fast asleep.

"So what will you name him?" He asked, the excitement of his youth making it next to impossible to stay quiet for long.

Piccolo finally tore his gaze away from the baby to look at Gohan. For a second he looked at the little gold harp that had been embroidered onto his pajamas, then to his face. "I'll call him Tategoto." He bit his lip to keep from smiling openly again. Gohan just grinned and walked off to wake his mother up.  
(Author's note: Tategoto is the Japanese word for "Harp")

  
SIX MONTHS LATER…  
It was pretty sunny and hot out in the valley where Piccolo lived. There was little or no wind at all, so the only place to take refuge from the heat was near the waterfall. At least there, Piccolo could meditate and let the cool mist wash over him after a hard day's training.

The only difference was that now he had to keep an eye out for Tategoto. The little guy was starting to crawl around, and was into just about everything. And, unlike Gohan, Piccolo couldn't leave him out alone yet. He was just a baby after all, and Piccolo didn't want Tategoto to grow up without a father.

"Tategoto, get away from there!" Piccolo shouted when the child started crawling after a dangerous lizard. Tategoto ignored him, and just kept reaching for the fire-colored lizard on the rock. The lizard's back was arching, and Piccolo was just in time to grab the kid before the lizard could strike. Irritated, the Namekian man looked at his son and said, "Tategoto, don't ignore me!"

Tategoto looked up at Piccolo, and his antennae drooped slightly. He opened his mouth, leading Piccolo to think he was going to say his first words already, but instead, a childlike whine came out. Piccolo sighed and picked his child up. "Maybe Bulma would know about this…as much as I hate asking for help." He sighed again, "Or…Chichi. I don't want to go asking her about this kind of crap. Heh…she's scared enough of me as it is." With a final snort of amusement, Piccolo rose up into the sky and flew towards the Capsule Corporation building.

  
Bulma's blue hair shined in the sunlight coming through the kitchen window as she finished cleaning up after Vegeta. The door had just banged shut to signify his departure to the gravity room. Then someone started banging on the door again.

"What now!? Hold your freaking horses already!" Bulma slammed down the fork she was drying and stomped to the door, yanking it open, "Oh!" She gulped when she came face to face with a muscular chest that was covered by purple and white. Her eyes traveled upwards over a pointed chin, curving lips pressed into a straight line, a pointed nose and two dark onyx orbs. She met Piccolo's gaze and swallowed quickly. "Um…hi Piccolo…" She inched back a few steps and noticed the baby, dressed in a little white tunic and baggy pants, in the crook of his arm. "Who's baby is that?"

Piccolo's expression remained stoic as he spoke in his deep voice that, unless he was yelling, seemed to always come out in a whisper, "His name's Tategoto and he's my kid. I don't want a lot of crap about it either." His white cape fluttered as the wind's invisible fingers started to play about and caress it's light fabric.

"Well he's cute, aren't you, you little sweetie?" Bulma said the last half of the sentence to Tategoto. Just as he'd been ignoring everything Piccolo said, he ignored Bulma too. She cocked her head and glanced up at Piccolo with one slender eyebrow raised.

Piccolo snorted, "That's what I brought him here for. He ignores me"

Bulma thought for a moment, twirling a strand of her blue hair around her manicured fingernail. "You know…we should take him to a doctor." She watched a sneer start to crease the bridge of his nose. "Well, if he's sick…what can you do? You never know what can happen to the flu these days. You don't watch TV, so you have no idea what's on the news. There's a strain of encephalitis going around and…ah well…we should have him checked out anyway." She gulped

Tategoto wriggled in his father's strong grasp, snuggling to get closer. Piccolo unconsciously moved him closer as he said, "Fine. But if I have to sit for more then five minutes in there, I'm leaving. Got it?" He added the last words in a dangerously low tone, not even believing himself that he was doing this.

"Fine. I'll make the appointment." Bulma stated, grimacing as she turned away from the door and disappeared into the kitchen for a moment.

__

As if any idiot doctors would know a Namek's anatomy anyway…Piccolo thought to himself, looking down at Tategoto with no expression on his face. Tategoto raised his antennae out of his face so he could see his dad, then smiled. His fingers rippled like a wave, then he let his antennae fall in his face again. 

"Ahem." Bulma cleared her throat to get Piccolo's attention. When he gave her his usual scowl, she continued while half-shielded by the door, "They said we can come right away."

"Whatever." Piccolo shifted Tategoto to his other arm and was ready to take off when Bulma stopped him again. "What now?!"

"Are you really going to walk in dressed like that?"

"Does it matter?" he growled back, starting to get a tad annoyed.

"Well, you stand out enough as it is…" Bulma trailed off and inched behind the door a little more.

Rolling his eyes, Piccolo pointed to his chest as a yellow light covered him. His gi, cape and turban all faded in the glare and were replaced a yellow T-shirt with a purple sweatshirt underneath, blue jeans, a blue baseball cap and white tennis shoes. The word POSTBOY was written across the front of the shirt in big purple letters. "Is this any better?" He snarled.

"Much." Bulma eased past him and towards her capsule car. She gripped the steering wheel tightly as Piccolo climbed in beside her, not exactly liking being this close to him. After all, he was so unpredictable that she didn't know what he'd do next.

"Let's just get on with this." Piccolo muttered, settling Tategoto in his lap and crossing his arms. Tategoto just gurgled quietly and looked around until he finally fell asleep.

Piccolo ignored the stares he got as he carried Tategoto into the stuffy waiting room. The room smelled of disinfectant and was relatively featureless. But the most annoying thing to his ears was the overhead lights. The constant buzz was a chainsaw to his brain.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. "Piccolo-san?" The nurse asked from the door.

Bulma stood up and gestured to Piccolo. "Over here."

"Ah yes. I'll just take your son to the back and we'll do a physical. You can wait here and you'll be called in shortly." The small blond-haired nurse said cheerily as she held her arms out to Tategoto.

"Hey! How come I can't go back there with my kid?" Piccolo retorted, reaching up to adjust his backwards baseball cap for the umpteenth time since he'd entered the place.

"Well, because he might cooperate better if he doesn't have a dad trying to tickle him and stuff…" The nurse cringed slightly, "It won't be long OK? Please, just stay here." She gulped quietly as the angry green man stared her down with his piercing black eyes.

"Ten minutes. Then I'm coming on my own." Piccolo growled, wishing he could just blow the roof off the place and take off. Social situations always made him a bit uncomfortable unless it was a fight. After all, he didn't exactly have social skills since he was pretty much a solitary person.

"O-OK." The nurse gently took Tategoto from Piccolo and carried him out of sight.

"Piccolo! Please don't do that again in here. You don't need a reputation." Bulma hissed.

"Shut up." Piccolo muttered, crossing his arms.

The ten minutes passed, and Piccolo was just starting to uncurl from the chair and charge back there when the nurse came walking back out. 

"You can come in now. Doctor Tasho needs to talk to you anyway." She shrank back slightly and grimaced.

"Fine." Piccolo gestured towards the door, "Lead the way." When the nurse started to walk, he followed until he came to a room where a portly woman was just setting Tategoto down on the examination table to keep an eye on him. 

The woman had a lot of curly red hair, and wasn't very attractive at all. _Heh, humans are getting uglier and uglier these days._ Piccolo thought as Dr. Tasho smiled and waved him into the room. She said a greeting in a voice that seemed awfully deep for a woman. Ignoring the scared little nurse, Piccolo strode into the room where Tategoto was waiting, clapping his hands together and wiggling around since he knew his father was with him again.

"Good afternoon Piccolo. The physical is complete…" Dr. Tasho started to babble on and on about how healthy and strong Tategoto was, but then she handed Piccolo a bunch of pamphlets as she started to talk medical babble about something else. He only caught the end of it: "…we've run some tests to determine that it's total."

Blinking at the multicolored pamphlets in his hands, Piccolo sneered and said in a cold, quiet tone that vibrated the small room, "What are you saying about my son? I didn't catch all of that."

"Piccolo, your son is deaf."

__

To be continued…


	3. Silent One: Chapter 3

Author's note: Anything in **bold**is sign language.

Silent One  
Chapter 3

The campfire crackled quietly, it's glow and warmth chasing away the chill of the night. A small emerald green form was sound asleep, wrapped in the corner of a white cape. Not too far away, a larger emerald green form was staring at the star-speckled sky and brooding silently.

__

My son…deaf… Endlessly black eyes turned away from the stars and fixed onto the smaller sleeping form. _Did I do something to make him that way? Am I to blame? No…how could such a thing be possible?_ The large Namekian slowly moved and sat down at the smaller one's side. _Maybe the doctor made a mistake…_

"Tategoto." Piccolo spoke in a whisper.

No response. Tategoto just kept right on sleeping, as happy as a baby could be.

Piccolo snapped his fingers right by the baby's ear. Still no response. Grimacing slightly, Piccolo steeled his nerves, put two fingers into his mouth and whistled as loud as he could. The noise echoed in the valley and grated on his nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

And Tategoto slept on as his father stared at him in silence.

__

What else can I do? I'll just put him out of his misery… Piccolo reached his large hand down towards the child and slowly curled his fingers around the tiny neck. One quick squeeze would do it. One quick squeeze would end a lifetime of pain. One quick squeeze to end a life the never really began. Tategoto awoke to the touch and his large eyes met his father's as a happy squeal came from his mouth. That innocent smile and bubbling giggle seemed to jam a sword into Piccolo's heart. Piccolo started to press his thumb down over the tiny bulge in Tategoto's throat that would someday be an Adam's Apple, causing the small child's air supply be cut off. The baby's innocent smile disappeared as a look of agony came to his face, and he struggled against his father's grasp. 

For some reason, the disappearing of the smile did something to Piccolo's mind and made his eyes mist over. _No._ _I will not shed tears! I am not that weak! _He found himself shaking his head violently as if to toss aside the strange emotions while releasing his grasp on Tategoto's throat. He watched him slump back against the weighted shoulderpads and cape that were lying on the ground. Almost instantly, the young Namekian baby started to cry. 

Unable to stand the sound, Piccolo got up and flew away, leaving the child there all alone. Vulnerable to anything and everything. He flew as far as he could as fast as he could, until finally he could hear the child's cries no more.

__

How will I ever communicate with him? How will I teach him to fight?! Piccolo thought about this as he crossed his arms. His left elbow brushed something papery, and he looked down to see the pamphlets he got earlier were still stuck in his belt. They had migrated there from his pocket when he "morphed" out of the clothes he wore to the doctor's office. Out of curiosity, he pulled one of them out and opened it. Most of it just talked about the various types of deafness, but the back page had something rather interesting on it.

There were images of hands in all sorts of strange positions, and a letter of the alphabet was labeled under each drawing. Cocking his head, Piccolo copied the first picture. He formed a fist, keeping his thumb pointed upwards so it was parallel to the first joints in his fingers. Then he copied the second one by sticking four fingers straight out and curling his thumb in towards his palm.

It didn't take Piccolo long to realize that these hand signals stood for a letter in the alphabet. In a few minutes, the mighty Namekian mastered the entire Manual Alphabet, and managed to spell out his own name as well as Tategoto's. A glimmer of hope rose in his almost-frozen heart, even though it was going to be a long shot, and he quickly reached for the next pamphlet.

"Sign Language…" He said aloud as he read the pamphlet. Then he remembered that he'd left Tategoto all alone. "If he can fight, it'll be worth being annoyed for a little while…." Piccolo said aloud as he rose into the air and returned to where he had left Tategoto.

Tategoto was asleep again, curled around the heavy shoulderpads of his father's cape. Piccolo reached over and pulled the cape around his small form, then sat back and finished reading the pamphlet.

__

I can't believe I'm doing this… Piccolo said silently as he landed in front of a rather nice looking building. It looked more like a house then a classroom, with many different types of flowers out in front and a nice red brick path up to the door. The building itself was white with a chocolate-brown slatted roof and a wood-paneling door. The large Namekian stared the place down for a few moments. Once again, he had changed into street-clothes, but something slightly less casual then last time. He was wearing an unbuttoned black flannel shirt with a white shirt underneath, and the three buttons under the collar were left undone so that the top of his pecs showed, and he was also wearing an expensive looking pair of blue jeans.

Tategoto gurgled from his position in the crook of his father's arm. Piccolo looked down at him and snorted. "Yeah, I know." Then he remembered that Tategoto couldn't hear him and that was the reason why he was here. He looked at the building again and sighed, "Well, I guess we gotta go inside." The tall Namekian man slowly walked towards the nice looking building and rapped on the door with his pointed nails.

"Come on in!" A light voice called.

Piccolo opened the door and was greeted by a blast of cool air from the air conditioning. Tategoto shifted slightly, his large eyes turning to look at his surroundings. Piccolo looked around as well, not seeing any of the people yet.

The room was decorated with all sorts of murals. Abstract colors and shapes. A large wall hanging with the Manual Alphabet decorated the far wall. There was only one person in the room, and she seemed to blend in so much that Piccolo didn't see her until she moved to stand.

She was a tall masculine looking woman, almost as tall as Piccolo, with chocolate skin, large dark brown eyes that were almost black and long sable hair that was pulled into a french braid. She smiled and said in a rich, sweet voice that gave away the fact that she had shouted the 'come on in', "_Konnichiwa_. You must be Piccolo."

"Yeah." Piccolo replied tersely, his deep voice seeming to boom throughout the entire room.

"Excellent. I'm Yasmine Davis, and I'll be your instructor for awhile." She extended her hand, but when Piccolo just blinked at the gesture, she boldly grabbed his free hand and shook it. "Welcome aboard!"

"Yeah." That seemed to be the only word that worked right in his brain at the moment as he pulled his hand away and fought the urge to hit her. _Don't touch me lady._ Piccolo said silently. Tategoto gurgled and wiggled his fingers at Yasmine while his other hand kept a firm grip on his father's shirt.

Yasmine just smiled at Tategoto, then looked back up at Piccolo. "I suppose he's the reason you're here. C'mon and sit down so we can get started already." She gestured to the couch, then turned, walked back to where she was sitting before and sat down. The wooden floor creaked in slight protest as Piccolo followed and eased himself onto the couch while fighting off the urge to just leave this uncomfortable situation.

"Where are the others?" Piccolo asked absently as he put Tategoto down next to him. "I thought this was a class."

"You're the only one that signed up. But that's OK. I find it worth it to help one person make a difference." Yasmine cocked her head a bit and smiled brightly to reveal flawless teeth. "So…do you know the Manual Alphabet already or not?"

"You mean the fingerspelling stuff? Yeah." Piccolo answered. He was feeling uncomfortable, maybe even scared, there was no way to be sure. All he knew was that this woman was seeing him doing something because he cared for his son. _Why couldn't I just kill him?_

"Good. Show me what you got."

Sighing, Piccolo held out his hand and started to form the letters with his fingers. When he got to the P, Yasmine stopped him.

"What?" 

"Your middle finger is supposed to point down, not outwards. It might get confused for an H. Here." She reached out and gently adjusted the position of his fingers. Tategoto, seeming oblivious of what was going on, happily clapped his hands together and babbled.

"Whatever." Piccolo did the right symbol, then continued through the rest of the little gestures until he had completed the entire alphabet.

"I think we're off to a pretty good start, Piccolo." Yasmine commented, pushing her braid over her shoulder.

Almost a year had gone by since Tategoto was born. It had been nearly six months since Piccolo had started learning to use Sign Language, and he became pretty good at it. Even still, he made a few mistakes. Tategoto was growing as well. He had gone from crawling to walking, and when he wanted attention, he had this annoying habit of grunting or clicking his tongue. When he wanted something, he'd usually tug his father's cape and point at whatever he wanted. Piccolo would often teach him how to get it for himself, but even still, he just couldn't shake the urge to keep looking over the kid's shoulder.

****

Good morning. "Good morning!" Yasmine spoke the words and signed then at the same time to Piccolo as he arrived for the day's lesson with Tategoto not far behind.

Piccolo replied in silence with the same gesture, looking genuinely annoyed. **Good morning.**

"You always look like you've had a bad day. Cheer up." Yasmine laughed quietly and headed inside, shutting the door, "There's a few things we need to talk about anyway."

"Whatever." Piccolo loped to the now-familiar room with Tategoto scrambling along behind him. When he sat down, Yasmine started to speak.

"When he gets older, he's going to need an education."

"I'm going to teach him to be a fighter." Piccolo quickly replied, crossing his arms as his brow ridges drew together to complete his typical scowl.

"Oh really now? But what will you do when he's old enough to realize that he's different from most people? That he can't hear? Then what will you do?" Yasmine countered, the silvery tinkle of her voice taking on an edge of coldness. She leaned back on the couch and crossed her arms, glancing at Tategoto momentarily to make sure he was OK. "You only know how to talk to a deaf person. You don't know how to teach one. Sight won't be enough, you know. You gotta stimulate the other four senses that still work."

"I can do that just fine." Piccolo growled in a harsh tone. "Are you suggesting I put my kid in some school?"

She made a fist and moved her hand up and down, signing. **Yes.**

"Bah!" Tategoto grunted as he knocked over an expensive vase and watched it crash to the ground. Yasmine jumped up and ran to his side. Piccolo brooded silently for a moment, then got up and walked over to where Tategoto and Yasmine were, looming over them both with his arms crossed.

****

That was bad. Piccolo signed to the boy when he had his attention long enough to do so. That was the first time he'd ever used the sign language outside of the lessons, and he did it without even thinking.

Yasmine just grinned. Perhaps she was getting through after all.

Piccolo landed out in his usual valley with Tategoto under his arm. Almost immediately, Tategoto scrambled away to go take a nap, and Piccolo sighed because now he'd have some peace for a few hours. He pointed to his chest and let the yellow glow cover him as his street clothes morphed back into his gi. Then he sat down on the ground indian style, crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he started to hum a monotonous note to ease himself into meditation.

Tategoto had changed his mind about sleeping. He was cold anyway, and his "blanket" was currently in use. So the young Namek did the only thing he knew to do. Scrambling over a rock, Tategoto walked over to Piccolo and climbed into his lap. Piccolo just snorted in indignation, but didn't push the child away either.

Then Piccolo felt Tategoto's hand on his throat. It was common for Tategoto to do this, to feel the vibration of his father's voice as he hummed during meditation. Still, he had yet to learn that what was most often a vibration to him was a sound to someone else.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…" Piccolo kept on humming, but the hum fell silent when he felt a tug on his cape. "Grr! What?" His arms were still crossed, so he couldn't sign the question out. A giggle from Tategoto made Piccolo open his eyes.

And Piccolo opened his eyes just in time too, because at that very moment, Tategoto opened his hand, stuck his thumb out and touched the extended thumb to his forehead.

****

Father.

Tategoto's "first word".

Piccolo couldn't hide his astonishment. _He just called me father! How did he learn that so fast?!_ A brief grin passed the Namekian man's face, making him look surprisngly pleasant for a moment. 

****

Father. Tategoto signed again, giggling.

__

Yes, Tategoto…there is hope for you yet… 

__

To be continued…


	4. Silent One: Chapter 4

Silent One  
Chapter 4

Four small lines of smoke merged into one and crawled up from the small white cake and the four candles that had just been blown out. Onyx eyes turned each way to see happy faces all around. Then the pair of eyes turned to the shaded tree to see the large, shadowed form with a long white cape falling around him, and a sparkle passed over them. Small emerald fingers extended, a thumb pointed outwards, and the hand was raised so the thumb touched the forehead.

****

Father. Tategoto signed.

"What's he saying?" Krillin asked, avoiding the blast of a party horn from Gohan.

"He's signing for his dad." Yasmine answered, bending down behind Tategoto and putting a delicate chocolate-brown hand on his shoulder to let him know she was there. Tategoto grinned and made a happy grunt with his throat without even realizing he was making noise.

"Cool." Krillin replied scratching his bald head, "Would you mind telling him that he's getting to be pretty big?" He added, noticing that Tategoto seemed to look more like he was six or seven years old instead of just four. It was hard to get used to the fact that Nameks matured faster then humans.

"Not at all." Yasmine grinned in response as Gohan picked up the torn paper from the presents that had been opened earlier. **Krillin says you're getting pretty big.** Yasmine signed to Tategoto.

Tategoto grinned brightly and signed back, **I'll be big like father someday.**

"He says he'll be big like his dad someday." Yasmine laughed, patting Tategoto on the head and standing up. "I believe that. He sure looks like him." She glanced into the shadows at Piccolo, who had his head down and his eyes shut as the sun illuminated half of his sharp-featured face. Piccolo just stayed where he was at the moment, a statue that had been draped in a majestic white cloth. Years of fighting had taught him that unnecessary movements could mean death, and the habit just happened to carry over to his everyday behavior.

Chichi straightened out the pile of books she had gotten for Tategoto, but she wasn't sure if he'd ever use them. For all she knew, Piccolo would throw them out or burn them as soon as they got back to the valley. Most of the gifts consisted of clothes, but one was a small weights set. Piccolo found that might be useful for the first bit of training. After all, he couldn't leave Tategoto alone like had Gohan, so he was going to have to try a different method and hope it worked.

A loud explosion of laughter woke Piccolo from his reverie. The kids were all swinging at a dragon-shaped pinnate, and at the moment, Gohan was the one trying his luck. He missed once, then hit it on the second try, but it didn't break. Krillin tried, managing to hit it once, but not hard enough to break it. Tategoto was next, looking pretty comical while standing there with a stick twice as long as he was tall in his small green hands. 

__

C'mon kid. I know you can do it. Piccolo found himself rooting for him silently. _Show 'em you're not a weakling…show me too…_

The pinnate came down, then went up. Tategoto didn't move. Down it came again, and still, the little Namekian didn't move. The third time it came down, his head suddenly turned, he brought the stick up over his head and brought it down with such force that the pinnate broke in half. Toys and candy spilled out, and all the while, Tategoto kept bopping the broken pinnate and laughing. Gohan finally took the stick away from him and helped him get the blindfold off so he could see what he did.

__

Perfect. A sparkle moved from one onyx eye to the other, then faded.

"Humph. Looks like that deaf kid of yours is worth more then you thought." Vegeta huffed from the other side of the tree.

"Shut up." Piccolo retorted. "He's stronger then you think."

Vegeta just laughed and walked off, rudely leaving the party to go train. Piccolo growled at his retreating back, then turned his attention back to the group by the pinnate just in time to see Tategoto approaching with a huge smile on his face.

****

Did you see what I did? I broke it! He signed happily.

Piccolo smirked and signed back with ease, **Yes. I saw what you did. Good work.** He fought the urge to reach down and pat the kid on the head. After all, he was supposed to be the un-approachable, cold-hearted one around here. At one time he did have the name Demon King, but whether or not the name still stuck, Piccolo would never know.

Tategoto spied Yasmine approaching, a tall and dark shadowy figure. He ran over to her and signed excitedly to her, repeating the question he'd asked Piccolo. Yasmine laughed and signed back that yes, she did see and that she was proud. After that, she turned him towards the rest of the party, gave him a nudge and watched him run off to join the others. Then she stood up and kept walking over to Piccolo.

"He seems to get more cute every day." She said with an amused laugh.

"Cute?" Piccolo's pointed nose wrinkled, his frown deepened and his curving upper lip curled into a sneer. He turned his head slightly and his face disappeared into the shadows. His eyes, however, seemed to remain visible. Two black orbs peering out of the darkness.

Yasmine copied Piccolo's expression and did a fake growl, then chuckled quietly and leaned on the same tree Piccolo was leaning on. "I bet you would be too if you didn't frown and sneer so much. It'll give you wrinkles."

"I am NOT cute!" Piccolo snarled.

Yasmine just laughed and brushed her hair back. She had it done up into several braids that hung down her back like a bunch of long, thin dredlocks. "OK fine. You're not cute. You're sexy." She countered boldly with a laugh, just teasing. Little did she know that teasing Piccolo was like juggling armed explosives.

"Shut up!" Piccolo, more shocked by the comment then angry, pushed off from the tree he was leaning on as if to take off and leave. If he got any angrier, he might do something that would hurt a lot of people.

"All kidding aside, Piccolo, you're not as scary as you think you are. It's clear you care about your kid, so why are you always trying to hide it? And if I may ask…where is his mother?" Yasmine pushed off the tree, but stayed where she was. She still had yet to know that Nameks don't have mothers. Piccolo hadn't told her that secret yet, but he was about to.

"He doesn't have a mother." Piccolo replied, keeping his back to her. He found it easier to talk to her if he didn't have to look at her. "And you don't know what I could do. If you did, you'd re-think your opinion of me." He added acidly.

"Oh? What happened to her?" She ignored his last comment.

"He just doesn't have one." He answered in a tone of voice that could freeze molten lava. "Nameks don't have mothers."

Yasmine blushed a little. "Oh…well hm…" Her lack of something to say caused Piccolo to smirk to himself as he started to lope towards Tategoto, who was kicking at the head to the pinnate he broke. He threw his cape over his shoulder and tapped Tategoto's shoulder to get his attention.

****

It's time to go. Piccolo signed.

****

What about the presents? Tategoto signed back, his brow ridges drawing together and his antennae drooping slightly.

****

I will bring them too. He replied with a sigh, then let his arms fall to his sides. Tategoto nodded and approached his father, placing his small hand into the larger one. Piccolo's fingers gently curled around the tiny hand, and then he lifted off. Hovering there for a few moments, the Namekian man pointed to the pile of gifts and they lifted into the air. Piccolo did a 'come here' gesture with his finger, and the gifts moved to surround him and Tategoto, who was hanging onto his large hand with both of his tiny ones. He gave his son a small nod, glanced at Yasmine out of the corner of his eye, then rose into the sky and disappeared into the distance.

Yasmine just shook her head silently like 'whatever'.

As he flew, Piccolo didn't notice the warning sign that had recently been placed next to the river upstream from the little tributary that he and Tategoto drank from. The sign said: WARNING! TOXIC SPILL. The reason Piccolo didn't see the sign was because he had to dodge the annoying helicopters flying around. The noise was battering his sensitive ears, so he just growled and got away from them as fast as possible, landing where he'd camped out the night before.

Night had fallen and a campfire lit a small circle of light on the ground. Tategoto was sitting by the stream, staring at the water. He knew what water was supposed to smell like, and knew that the smell wasn't supposed to be sour.

Piccolo had just filled his canteen, but had been mostly in the smoke of the fire. Because of the smoke, he didn't smell what Tategoto had. He was taking a drink when Tategoto suddenly ran over and slapped the canteen out of his hand, sending it sliding along the ground while it's contents spilled out. "Hey!" The large Namekian shouted. "What the hell!?" **What are you doing?** He signed quickly with a scowl.

Tategoto's young age prevented him from knowing how to answer the question in a way that his father would understand, and only signed, **Don't drink the water.**

"Crazy kid. What is he trying to do?" Piccolo muttered, reaching over and picking up the canteen. He shook it to see how full it was. It was still half-full, so he gulped down what was left and then sat down again, frowning at Tategoto when he started throwing a small tantrum. He took off his cape and turban so Tategoto could lay down and sleep, but the young Namek continued to carry on.

The sour, metallic aftertaste in the water started to make itself known. Piccolo frowned, wondering why, but pushed it aside and settled against a rock with his arms crossed so he could get a good night's sleep. Tategoto's soft whimpering continued as he started to pace uneasily like a frightened animal in a cage, signing 'don't drink the water' to the empty air.

About a half hour later, storm clouds rolled in and it started to rain. The raindrops exploded in small sunbursts against Piccolo's skin, instantly waking him from his light slumber. Tategoto was still pacing, humming and moaning in agitation. Piccolo just watched him for a moment, then moved to stand.

"What is his AAH!" The large Namekian man was forced back down to the ground by a horrible cramp that had formed in his stomach. A cramp so bad that the pain almost matched what he had felt when he was regurgitating Tategoto's egg.

Tategoto saw his father move and collapse. He ran to his side and tugged on his gi, trying to help him up again with little success. **I told you not to drink the water!** He signed urgently, the gestures so fast that Piccolo almost couldn't follow them.

Piccolo managed to drag himself towards the stream and reached his hand out to get a handful of water when the smell of the water reached his nose. A human would never have been able to pick it up, but a Namek easily could. His onyx eyes widened and he muttered some obscenities. _Arsenic…the water's full of arsenic…_ All hell seemed to start breaking loose in Piccolo's body after he realized that he should have listened to Tategoto.

Tategoto didn't know what to do, and could only watch as his father briefly drew his knees close to his body before sitting up, pelted by the rain that was pouring down. Standing was out of the question, and it was getting more and more difficult to breathe.

There was a flash of lightning that illuminated the landscape brilliantly for one ten-thousandth of a second. That short instant in time was all Piccolo needed to realize that Tategoto was nowhere to be found.

Forgetting that the child wouldn't hear him, Piccolo shouted, "Tate - " the rest of the word was lost in a thunderclap. Piccolo put his hands flat on the ground, strained and managed to push himself to his feet. He fell again almost instantly when his body involuntarily doubled over on itself. The pain was becoming worse then it had been to regurgitate Tategoto's egg, but the rain washed away any tears that may have escaped.

In a last ditch attempt to get up, Piccolo grabbed onto a nearby tree and tried to pull himself up. A jolt of pain shot through his stomach, doubling him over again. This time, when he hit the ground with a dull thud, his eyes started to roll back into his head as his consciousness started to go dark.

__

Tategoto…where have you gone?

Piccolo's eyes drifted shut when the unconsciousness became complete, and the rain poured down relentlessly, battering his crumpled emerald green form. And the poisonous arsenic from the spill continued to slowly assault his body.

__

To be continued… 


	5. Silent One: Chapter 5

Author's note: Since suspense kills, I got this part up as fast as I could ;) Don't die anybody! J/k

Silent One  
Chapter 5

Look up. Big machine with whirling blades on top that send too much vibration. Look around. Lights everywhere, flashing or shining. Confusion. Another machine that rolls along the ground with a big scoop on the front. Rain coming down everywhere. The sky keeps flashing. Run!

Those where the thoughts going on in Tategoto's mind as he dashed un-noticed through the clean-up crew that was trying to get rid of the arsenic in the water. Everything was frightening, especially the helicopters, since they slammed their intense chop-chop vibrations into Tategoto's breastbone with such force that it felt like someone was punching him in the chest.

__

Daddy would be brave for me if I was sick. Tategoto thought, steeling his nerves to make another run for it. The rain continued to pour down, millions of ropes hanging from the sky that battered anyone unfortunate enough to walk among them. But Tategoto didn't let the rain stop him. His feet splashed through puddles and mud as he dashed towards the city at a speed even he never knew he could run.

Less then an hour after Tategoto had started his trek across the valley, Yasmine was awakened from a sound sleep by someone pounding on her door. She threw on a wine-colored satin robe that flowed around her like water and hurried to the door. The person pounded again, harder and faster this time. When Yasmine opened the door, she was faced with a small rain-soaked and sobbing green figure.

"Tategoto?" **What are you doing here? Where is your father?** Yasmine signed quickly.

****

I told him not to drink the water! Tategoto signed back, sobbing so hard that he could barely move his hands properly. **Now he is sick.**

How is he sick? Can you show me?

Tategoto nodded and imitated the way his father had doubled over and fallen, pointing to his stomach and signing that the pain must have been there. He also imitated the way Piccolo had been panting a little, then stood up and shivered from being wet and cold.

****

Come inside. I will get you a towel and then we will go find your father. Yasmine signed quickly, holding her hand out to the little Namekian boy. Tategoto nodded and placed his small hand into her large, delicate one and let his fingers curl around her thumb. She led him inside and signed for him to stay put, then went into her bedroom for a towel. _It sounds like arsenic poisoning…good Lord…I hope Piccolo is still alive when we find him…_

Tategoto just shivered, wiping tears off his small face with the back of his hand as a whine escaped his throat. Yasmine returned with the towel and put it around him, gently hugging him as she did so. In spite of herself, knowing he couldn't hear her, she still whispered, "It'll be OK, Tategoto…" She drew his attention to her hands and signed, **Can you take me to your father?**

Tategoto made a fist and moved his hand up and down, signing the word 'yes'. Yasmine nodded to him, got her keys and led him to her sleek black hover-car. As soon as he was in the car, Tategoto pointed in the direction that his father was, his breath fogging up the window since he had his nose pressed against it. She followed where he pointed, and they reached the site of the spill in about ten minutes. Tategoto only caught a glimpse of the sign this time, but Yasmine had seen it soon enough to read what it had said.

"Buh!" Tategoto started hitting the rain-speckled window with his finger as he pointed to the pile of rocks and group of trees where he and Piccolo were camped out. He grabbed Yasmine's arm and signed, **Father is in there.**

Good job. Yasmine signed back, reaching into her glove compartment for her flashlight. Tategoto had already shoved the car door open and was splashing through puddles as he ran towards where Piccolo was. Lightning flashed, but it was so far off that no thunder followed, and shimmering silver streaks of rain passed Yasmine's flashlight when she flicked it on. She managed to get the light on Tategoto long enough to see where he was going, and sprinted past him as the rain pelted her brown skin and plastered her sable hair to her face and arms.

The splashing stopped as Tategoto stopped running, and Yasmine could hear him panting. She turned the flashlight to the left slightly and could see Tategoto bending over a larger doubled-up form.

****

He won't wake up! The little Namek signed and started to cry, the rain washing away his tears before they could fall very far.

Yasmine hurried to Piccolo's side and handed Tategoto the flashlight, showing him where she wanted him to point it. Then she grabbed Piccolo's shoulder and rolled him onto his back. Piccolo was like a pile of rags, easily moved. White foam had formed in the corners of his mouth, and some of it had formed in a small puddle under his head. She touched his neck just below his jawline with two fingers as she brought her cheek near his mouth. _This isn't good…he's not breathing and there's no pulse! He could have been this way for a long time, there's no way to know. I have to try!_

Tategoto whimpered quietly as he watched Yasmine tilt Piccolo's head back, pinch his nostrils shut and place her mouth over his. She blew into his mouth, then strategically placed her hands on the center of his chest and pressed down three times.

"One, two, three!" Yasmine said aloud as she performed three chest-compressions, then pinched Piccolo's pointed nose shut and breathed into his mouth. "C'mon Piccolo! Your kid needs you!" She repeated the entire CPR process, but wasn't having much luck. Just as she was about to call it quits, she felt Piccolo's chest twitch and quickly felt for a pulse. She sighed in relief and looked at Tategoto. **Your father is OK.**

Thank you. Was all Tategoto could think to sign back as he scooted closer to where Piccolo was and put his tiny hands down on his father's large chest. The rain had turned from a deluge to a light shower by then, and the blackness of the night was starting to turn gray as morning approached.

Piccolo was starting to come around, but was so far out of it that he didn't even know where he was. He was moving around, however, and Yasmine knew that this might be her only chance to move him. She grabbed his arm and threw it over her shoulder, then struggled to get him to stand. Through clenched teeth, she said, "C'mon Piccolo. It isn't too far."

The large Namekian man seemed to comply, just barely, and the progress was very slow. Even still, Yasmine managed to walk him to her car. Tategoto ran ahead and yanked the door open, allowing Yasmine to half-shove, half-drop Piccolo into the passenger's side. She motioned Tategoto to get into the back seat and climbed into the driver's seat when he did as she asked.

The sleek, ebony black hovercar turned around and sped off, disappearing from view in a short few moments.

Most of the nightmare was over. Yasmine had managed to get Piccolo out of his soaking wet clothes and made him comfortable in her bed. Knowing he would be out of it for awhile, she went into the living room to see how Tategoto was doing. When Tategoto saw Yasmine's tall, willowy dark shape exiting the hallway, he ran towards her and was just in time to be caught up in her long arms for a hug.

****

You were very brave. Yasmine signed, whispering the words at the same time. "Very brave…"

Tategoto smiled with a small grunt and yawned, his small mouth gaping far enough that his gleaming fangs were visible for a moment. He rubbed his eyes with a small fist and signed, **I want to sleep.**

Yasmine nodded, carried Tategoto into the bedroom and settled him down on the bed next to Piccolo. Tategoto murmured quietly without knowing he was making sounds, and hung onto Yasmine's shirt for a few seconds to keep her attention. When she turned back to him, he bent his head up, kissed her cheek, then giggled and settled down to sleep. Before he was totally asleep, he signed, **Tategoto loves Yasmine.**

Smiling, Yasmine brushed his antennae back and kissed him between his brow ridges, deeply touched by what he'd said. She signed back to him, **Yasmine loves Tategoto too.**

Tategoto grinned, turned over and fell almost instantly to sleep. Yasmine just smiled and looked at his little face as he slept. He looked so innocent and delicate when he was asleep, a cute little doll among the sheets. She carefully got up, walked around the bed and checked on Piccolo.

The older Namekian was breathing a lot better then he had been when he was brought in. His powerful-looking chest rose and fell slowly as he breathed, the sound of the air rushing in and out of his nostrils coming in a steady rhythm. It reminded Yasmine of the sounds waves make when they crash onto the shore and recede. Her eyes came to rest on Piccolo's face, and she couldn't help but stare in a mix of awe and another feeling she couldn't put her finger on at the moment.

In sleep, Piccolo's face had lost all the intimidating lines and wrinkles. His brow ridges, instead of being drawn together into a perpetual frown, rested like two smooth sloping plateaus on his forehead where his antennae were gently draped. Without a sneer to form wrinkles and folds in it, his pointed nose seemed almost delicate, and Yasmine could guess that when he was a child that it had been as tipped up as Tategoto's presently was. Her dark eyes continued to study Piccolo's sleeping face, admiring it for the first time. She had never seen his lips really, since they were always pressed tight together until his mouth was only a straight line across the bottom of his face. So it surprised her that they curved so beautifully, seemingly sculpted by a talented hand. All in all, Piccolo looked almost childlike when he slept, the only time when the innocence that had been taken from him in the past was allowed to show through.

Without thinking, Yasmine reached her slender hand out and slowly brushed her knuckle down the slope of his nose, then turned her hand over and gently traced his surprisngly soft lips with her fingertips. Piccolo didn't move, except to turn his head away from the touch. She moved her hand away slowly, watching to see if he was starting to wake up or not. All Piccolo did was shift his position slightly and exhale noisily though his mouth. Yasmine, figuring that she should just let him be, quietly got up and headed into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee.

Two seconds after she had left the room, Piccolo raised his hand slowly to his mouth and brushed his pointed white nail along his lips where her fingertips had caressed. His antennae slowly took a more erect position and his large black eyes slid open, giving only a flicker of annoyance to the vague pain in his abdomen before shifting look around. He didn't know where he was, or how he'd gotten there, but he had the strange feeling that everything was OK. More relief came when Piccolo turned his head and saw Tategoto sound asleep. He had thought that he had lost the child, and had begun to realize how much he really did care for the boy. It no longer mattered to Piccolo that Tategoto was deaf.

__

Sleep well, my son. Piccolo said silently as he passed his hand over the child's forehead. Then he got up slowly and realized that all of his clothes were draped over a chair next to the bed. He wasn't too embarrassed; after all, Piccolo didn't really have much to see _down there_ anyway. But for the sake of decency, the tall Namekian man slowly climbed into his gi bottoms, too tired to put anything else on, and staggered out into the living room. He paused in the doorway and noticed the couch where he and Yasmine always sat for the sign language lessons. Knowing where he was now, Piccolo tiredly leaned his head against the doorframe and sighed, his antennae seeming to become a pair of wilted, drooping plant stems.

Yasmine was coming out of the kitchen with a steaming mug of coffee when she noticed Piccolo in the doorway. She was so surprised that he was up so soon that she almost dropped what she was carrying. "Oh! You're awake. How do you feel?" _Good Lord! This guy has one hell of a body! _She put a hand near her face to hide the fact that she was blushing.

Piccolo rubbed the back of his large hand over his face as if to wipe away the sleep, the same way Tategoto had done to wipe away tears. His deep voice came out more in a whisper, "Like shit."

Chuckling, Yasmine's satin robe flowed around her legs as she strode to the couch and sat down, placing her mug down on the end table. "Well then sit yourself down. You look like you're gonna fall over again any second."

"Thanks for noticing." Piccolo snorted sarcastically, but he complied because he was still pretty shaky on his feet. The couch sagged slightly when he sat down. "How did I get here…for that matter…why am I still alive?" His voice lowered slightly, "Arsenic can kill a Namek in hours if nobody takes care of it…"

"Don't thank me. Don't even bother." Yasmine smiled into her coffee mug and lifted her slender eyebrows as she took a drink.

"Wha…?" Piccolo leveled his eyes with hers and frowned at her choice of words.

"I said, 'don't thank me'." She tilted her head to the side for a moment, brushing her hair over her shoulder as she set her mug down gently. Meeting Piccolo's confused gaze, she said, "Thank your son, Piccolo. He showed up on my doorstep in tears and showed me where you were."

Piccolo's protruding brow-ridges went up and his antennae seemed to stand straight out briefly as a look of genuine surprise came to his face. He composed himself quickly as a sly smirk drew a corner of his mouth up. "That damn kid…" The look on his face showed that he was being sarcastic though, and Yasmine couldn't ignore the glow of pride in his endlessly black eyes. "I thought he'd taken off on me."

"I think he loves you too much to abandon you." Yasmine paused briefly, looking down into her coffee mug and smiling as another slow blush darkened the chocolate-brown skin on her cheeks. Her lips parted and she added on in an undertone, "Just like you love him too much to abandon him…"

Piccolo jerked his head to look at her again while she was looking down at her coffee mug. For a moment, his eyes traveled down to her hands as the memory of her fingers gently caressing his lips came back to his mind. He pushed the thought away, not wanting to face this odd feeling that he had no name for. However, Piccolo could not deny what Yasmine said, because it was as true as if someone had painted a bull's eye over the statement and shot it dead center with an arrow.

Yasmine raised her eyes to look at Piccolo again and said, "I'm glad you're OK. You did almost die, you know. When Tategoto brought me to you, you were in total cardiac arrest." She lowered her eyes again to her coffee mug as she took another sip.

Blinking once, Piccolo unconsciously touched his chest as if to see if his heart was still beating. Feeling stupid that he did so, he curled his fingers into a fist, quickly moved his hand and let it come to rest at his side. "Is Tategoto OK? I mean…the kid must have freaked."

"He'll be OK. I took care of him while you were recovering."

Piccolo nodded silently, almost to himself as he got up to go back into the room and get the rest of his clothes on. He paused for a moment while his back was to Yasmine, feeling comfortable enough to speak to her when they weren't making eye contact. "Hey."

Yasmine replied, "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Yasmine was a bit surprised to actually hear Piccolo say that word. The way he'd said it, it wasn't growled or snapped. Just a whisper and nothing more. She looked up just in time to see his broad green back, with muscles that rippled with each graceful movement of his arms and shoulders, disappear into the room where his clothes were. She could barely see into the room, just catching glimpses of a green arm or hand as Piccolo wriggled his gi top over his head and stepped into his shoes.

"You're welcome." Yasmine whispered. She caught herself staring at him again and rolled her eyes at herself, wandered back to the couch and flopped down with a sigh. The memory of Piccolo's face while he slept suddenly came to mind, and she smiled. As she brushed her long hair back with a sweep of her hand and picked up her coffee mug to take a sip, Yasmine quietly said to herself, "Piccolo…I think I'm falling for you…"

__

To be continued… 


	6. Silent One: Chapter 6

Author's note: If anybody out there can draw, would you mind sending me fanart from any part of this series? I'd do it myself but ~sweatdrops~ I can't draw a straight line straight. LOL send the fanart to me at[Piccolo_loves_me@yahoo.com ][1]

Silent One  
Chapter 6

The afternoon sun was beating down in the valley. A dry breeze stirred dust and small leaves up, creating whirlwinds every now and then. Heat waves made the air ripple to such a degree that the horizon seemed to be little more then a blur in the distance. Animals and insects stayed in the shade, out of the intense sun.

Two green figures were walking through the desert. One was tall, wearing a dark blue-violet sleeveless gi with a navy blue sash, a turban, large weighted shoulderpads and a white cape that danced on the wind. A smaller figure, just a little less then half the size of the first, followed along beside him. He, too, wore a dark blue-violet sleeveless gi with a navy blue sash, a turban, shoulderpads and a white cape. Unlike the larger figure, however, the clothes weren't weighted that much. At most, the turban weighed about a pound and the shoulderpads were probably two pounds. Very light compared to the fifty or so more pounds that the weights on the larger figure wore.

Dressed the way he was, Tategoto looked like a miniature twin of his father. A tiny shadow that would someday be as great as the person that was casting it. Indeed, there was no mistaking who the child's father was.

Piccolo walked along with an almost dancelike grace, his body moving like a well-oiled machine with rippling muscles of liquid steel and cord-like veins visible under his emerald skin. Adding to the almost liquid quality of the Namek's movements was his cape, ever-flowing behind him with a life of its own. Perspiration gave him a sparkling sheen, but mostly on the red-ringed, raised pink muscles that could be seen on his arms. His footsteps were falling in an unbroken rhythm, kicking up only a small amount of dust and making almost no sound at all. Sometimes he didn't seem to touch the ground at all, the way he could move so smoothly.

There was no particular destination in mind as he led the child through the valley; he was starting to build Tategoto's endurance by walking like this. It was the first time, but even still, Piccolo was a bit amazed that the child wasn't growing tired yet. After all, every loping step Piccolo took, Tategoto had to take three or four, but he kept pace with his father and didn't miss a beat. In fact, he was skipping along to keep pace, able to match his father's steps with each bound. Being a kid, nothing seemed to please him more then to please his father, whom he admired and loved with all his young heart.

However, gradually after several hours, Tategoto's skipping turned to walking as he became slightly winded. Finally, after another hour, he was so tired that he was dragging his feet.

Tategoto tugged his father's gi pants and signed, **Father I am tired.**

Piccolo looked down at his son's exhausted form with a relatively expressionless face. **Try to go a little longer. **He pointed to a stream nearby, **We'll stop when we get there.**

Nodding tiredly, Tategoto flipped his cape over his shoulder, following Piccolo when he turned and headed towards the stream. The younger Namek immediately went to the water, sniffing it out of habit and fear from what happened the previous night before taking a drink. Piccolo just flopped down into his usual cross-legged, arms-crossed position and closed his eyes to relax for a few moments. He could hear Tategoto's childlike sigh of relief as he finished drinking his fill, and wasn't too surprised when the boy came over and climbed into his lap. When Piccolo didn't feel Tategoto's head on his shoulderpad, he couldn't help but open his eyes and look down to see why, and the sight he saw was so comical that he almost burst into open laughter.

Tategoto was sitting in his father's lap with his back to him, imitating the meditating position. So basically he was using Piccolo like a chair, and being so little, the top of his head still only came to his father's chin. The older Namekian allowed himself a soft chuckle, and the movement caused Tategoto to turn his head up and back to see what was going on. A sparkle passed from one black eye to the other as he grinned, and Piccolo's eye got the same sparkle as he grinned back in spite of himself, watching Tategoto turn around again and bow his head. After a moment, Piccolo bowed his head once again, promising himself that he'd never forget the image he just saw as he tried for the billionth time to brush aside the memory of Yasmine's fingers brushing over his lips. He hated to admit it, but he had liked it when she had done that.

Not too far away, a green figure wearing a white sleeveless costume with a blue cape and carrying a wooden stick was standing on the edge of a cliff. This figure was also a Namek, but much older. The marks of age mostly consisted of wrinkles lining his face and especially his scalp, and the top of his head almost resembled a cartoon version of a beehive. Even his antennae were wrinkled, but still seemed just alive as the rest of him, as if the age was only an outward appearance.

__

Yes, Piccolo, you have come so far. The wise old figure thought as he watched, his eyes studying Tategoto's young face to compare it to Piccolo's. Aside from the natural smoothness and innocence of youth, the young Namek was a mirror image of his dad, just as everyone seemed to say. Piccolo's innocence reborn.

Kami woke from his reverie when an odd clicking noise broke the silence. Figuring it was just an insect, he looked back at the two Nameks just in time to notice Tategoto's eyes had opened and were looking at him. Piccolo paid him no mind when he hopped from his lap, and Kami lifted off from the cliff to float to the ground so he could see the child closer. The young Namekian reached Kami just as he was touching down, and stared up at him in wonder. Kami grinned, the corners of his eyes forming into many wrinkles, and kept both hands on his wooden stick as he squatted down to be eye level with the boy.

__

Wow! Another man like my daddy! Tategoto thought as he looked at Kami closely, using two fingers to perform what looked like a salute and a wave, signing the word 'hello'.

"Ah, sign language. Can you not speak?" Kami asked.

Tategoto couldn't read lips quite yet, and his brow ridges drew together as he briefly signed, **I am deaf. I can't understand you.** It was a bit embarrassing at times to admit that he couldn't do something, and it was starting to dawn on him that he was a little different from others. For one, not everyone talked with their hands the way he, his father and Yasmine did. Oftentimes, someone would talk to Yasmine or Piccolo, they would sign to Tategoto, then Tategoto would sign back and they would translate what he'd said.

Upon this new information, Kami was a tad surprised. Piccolo always wanted perfection in everything he did, and had expected it back when he had trained Gohan. Not allowing himself to puzzle over that at the moment, Kami tapped one of his thin, long wrinkled fingers against his wooden stick in thought. Then he got an idea and used his fingers to write in the dirt.

'What is your name?' He wrote.

Grinning, Tategoto bent down and scribbled his name into the dirt. He got his letter 'e' backwards, but Kami understood what he wrote. Kami wrote his name down so Tategoto would know it, chuckling quietly as the younger Namekian spelled out the name with the Manual Alphabet. 

Tategoto giggled quietly, suddenly grabbing Kami's hand and moving his large, wrinkled fingers into the letters. Kami couldn't help but laugh himself, feeling quite young again while near the child. The laughter got Piccolo's attention, and he opened his eyes to see what was going on. He saw Kami squatting down in front of Tategoto, chuckling as the boy tried to teach him the Manual Alphabet. _Heh, the old fart looks like he'd be Tategoto's grandfather._ Piccolo mused to himself as he got up to go over and give Kami a rough time.

"So, what are you doing here?" Piccolo asked as he approached Kami with his arms crossed and his cape dancing on the wind.

"Oh, just paying your son a visit. It's about time I did, after all. I must say that I'm impressed." Kami replied calmly, all-too-accustomed to Piccolo's attitude towards him.

Piccolo reached down and put a hand on Tategoto's shoulder, "Well consider the visit concluded." He sneered briefly, then walked off with Tategoto following close behind. Tategoto glanced back and waved briefly, then turned around so he could see where he was going.

"Well, his attitude sure hasn't changed." Kami mused, watching the two walk away with their white capes flowing like banners behind them. "But the boy is your innocence, Piccolo. Manifested in a physical body." He smiled to himself as he slowly took flight towards his Lookout. "Yes, the Silent One will help complete the change that young Gohan started long ago. Take care of him." With those final words, spoken on the wind, Kami vanished into Zanzoken and finished the journey to his Lookout.

Exhausted from several more hours of working out, Tategoto flopped down on his back to rest while Piccolo got a campfire going. The sun had just gone down, taking the heat of the day with it.

****

That was hard work. Tategoto signed, the sweat from the workout still glistening slightly on his arms and hands. Indeed, he had worked hard. The young boy had done almost three miles of jogging, over a hundred push-ups and managed two-hundred sit-ups. The exercises had all taken the rest of the day to complete, but Tategoto didn't offer a single complaint about being tired until just then.

Piccolo nodded as he added some twigs to the fire and replied, **It will get easier as time passes. Sleep now, you will need your rest.** As soon as he completed the last gesture, Piccolo put his hand gently on Tategoto's forehead and pushed his head down. Tategoto complied, closing his eyes and yawning so that his fangs were shown off briefly.

Sighing to himself, Piccolo kept his hand on Tategoto's forehead so he'd know that he was still close by, and his fingernails slightly dented the white fabric on the younger Namek's turban. When he was sure the child had fallen completely asleep, he moved his hand away, scooted back a few inches and settled down against a tree. The glow of the campfire made his skin look almost a golden color, and the dancing flames were clearly reflected in his endlessly black eyes.

__

He's getting stronger already, and it was only his first day of training… Piccolo slowly tilted his head back and looked up at the sky to see if there were any clouds coming or not. He was greeted with a starry chandalier that went on forever, as if each little crystal was a glimpse of the past. His eyes slowly lowered to Tategoto's sleeping form again, and a crease formed in the corner of the left one as he smirked with half his mouth, _The sky's not even the limit for this kid._

Piccolo closed his eyes, and almost immediately, the memory of Yasmine's fingertips on his lips came to mind. Snapping his eyes open again, he cursed out loud, "Dammit! Why can't I get that out of my head!? I can't even close my eyes anymore!" He hissed once more in irritation, baring his pointed incisors, then forced himself to relax and settle against the tree once again.

For the entire four years that he had known Yasmine, Piccolo often saw her as his and Tategoto's sign language teacher. She had also gradually worked her way into being called 'friend' occasionally, and it was clear that she loved Tategoto a lot. Piccolo had also caught her looking at him when she thought he didn't know it on more then one occasion. That often led him to wonder what she was thinking. Ever since she had touched his lips that way, Piccolo had a feeling like her fingers passing over his lips was like someone opening a zipper, but what she had opened remained to be seen.

"Feh. Humans are just complicated." Piccolo muttered, breaking a twig and tossing it aside as he settled and crossed his arms. 

If his mind hadn't been so full of thoughts, the large Namekian would have heard the rapid clicking of a camera's shutter not too far away.

A dark figure was squatting behind a tree a short ways away and had been snapping photos ever since Piccolo had settled down with Tategoto. The same figure had also been snapping photos of Piccolo and Tategoto together during the day, especially when the boy had been sitting in his father's lap. However, upon seeing that the brief show of affection had passed once again, the dark figure packed the camera up, walked to a black hovercar to deposit the camera and used film, and retrieved something else from the back seat. 

Turning back to the circle of light from the campfire, the figure walked directly towards where the two Nameks were settled down. Long black hair fluttered slightly on the wind. Dark brown eyes flickered in the light. Smooth chocolate brown skin seemed to fit in with the darkness.

Piccolo heard the sound of footsteps and blinked, coming to full alert when he realized they were coming his way. Then he turned his head and was just in time to see Yasmine emerge from the shadows, carrying a small battery-operated boombox in her left hand.

"Sleepless night?" She asked casually, stopping at the edge of the circle of light cast by the fire. She had one hand on her hip and used her free one to set the boombox down.

"What the!? What the hell are you doing here?" Piccolo asked, a bit startled to see the person he was puzzling over suddenly just appear out of the blue.

"I came to check up on you. You were in pretty bad shape yesterday and I wanted to make sure you were doing OK." Yasmine replied as she moved closer to the campfire's warmth, the goosebumps on her brown skin more then enough to show that she was cold.

"Humph." Piccolo growled, crossing his arms even tighter and looking away from her, somewhere off to the side, "Why do you care?" He muttered in an undertone.

"Because I can." She muttered back, and Piccolo turned his head back to her with a frown creasing his brow. "If you can't sleep, let me try something that will help. No drugs or anything like that. I can guarentee that it'll help."

"What is it?"

"I can't explain it. Trust me, OK? I'm not gonna hurt you or anything."

"You couldn't hurt me if you tried." Piccolo mused, rolling his eyes. "Try your little 'thing' on me." He snorted, "I doubt it'll work anyway."

Yasmine smiled as she knelt by the fire. "Don't be so sure of yourself. My dad once taught me how to do this little trick, and it works on anybody…"

__

To be continued… 

   [1]: mailto:Zarbon_is_cute@yahoo.com



	7. Silent One: Chapter 7

Author's Note: Who can name the singer(my fave, btw ^_^) that does the song that appears in my fic? Read, guess and enjoy!

Silent One  
Chapter 7

"OK, are you ready?" Yasmine asked, holding a twig over the fire until the tip ignited.

With an indignant snort, Piccolo replied, "Yeah, I'm ready. Knock yourself out."

Yasmine straightened, seeming little more then a shadow because of her dark complexion, and walked closer to Piccolo with the burning twig in her hand. "OK. Watch the flame and nothing else."

Piccolo fixed his eyes onto the flame, following it with his eyes when she moved it slowly from side to side. He hardly even realized she was moving it, and pretty soon he seemed to zone out as everything but the tiny flicker of light darkened around him. It was like he was looking down a tunnel of tinted glass to see the little flame.

Moving the flame gradually closer to Piccolo's face, Yasmine whispered, "Your eyes should feel heavy now, and your mind is becoming drowsy…" She moved the flame a little closer, but still not close enough for it's light to reach his face. "When the flame is near your face, you will fall into a deep sleep."

Still watching the flame, Piccolo could feel his eyes growing heavier. Yasmine's voice started to sound far off in the distance as his mind started to wind down. The closer the flame got, the more sleepy he felt, and with remarkable quickness, his head suddenly slumped forward when the flame was a mere three inches from his face. The large collar on his shoulderpads prevented his head from falling too far, but as Yasmine had said, the trick had worked. The Namekian was sound asleep, his face relaxing to the way it had been the last time he was seen asleep as the light from the burning twig cast it's glow onto his sharp features.

The hypnosis was complete.

"Can you hear me?" Yasmine whispered, smiling gently.

Piccolo answered her in a low voice, "Yes."

"Until I wake you, you can't tell me any lies. So tell me now, what made you so cold to the world? Why are you so hateful?"

"A man named Goku killed my father. Before he died, he regurgitated my egg and I was born to get revenge…alone…" His voice was barely a whisper. "Killing him was all I knew…then I ended up allying with him to fight a common enemy. The alliance lasted longer then we thought and now Goku's whereabouts are unknown." His voice lowered even further. "I…have lost my purpose…"

"Did anyone ever care for you when you were born?" Yasmine, slightly startled by Piccolo's previous reply, settled down in front of him, keeping the burning twig near his face so she could see any signs that he was coming out of the trance by his own will.

The Namekian nodded his head slowly, "Once."

"What happened to them?" She asked.

"I…" His voice faded, then returned, "…killed them…"

Blinking, Yasmine shifted the twig to her other hand and wiped some dirt off her leg as she adjusted her sitting position slightly. "Why? Take yourself there in your memory and tell me…"

"I don't know…" There was a pause, then he continued when the memory came clear to his mind as a movie on a screen. Blood, blood everywhere. "Someone had gotten hurt, and I could smell their blood." A tiny green shape let out a shriek as it started tearing objects in a house apart and flinging them at people with incredible strength. "It just drove me into an insanity, and…it didn't stop until I thought I was the only living thing in the house." Images of flames passed his mind, "Then I destroyed the house…there was a baby still alive in there. It was crying and I watched it…this innocent child was dying in front of me and I…" Very suddenly, glistening tears formed in the corners of Piccolo's eyes, welling up near the cracks of his closed lids before sliding effortlessly down his emerald cheeks. His voice, however, didn't change or crack, "I watched it burn, and my innocence along with it. The villagers saw me there and started to call me a demon…so I ran. Ran and stayed alone…alone to know only the rage and hate."

Tears had welled up in Yasmine's eyes as well. _He was born to know only hate? How could anyone want that? _She glanced at Tategoto when he turned over, wondering silently, _How could one so full of this anger have a child so pure?_

"What do you _really_ want, Piccolo? Out of life?" Yasmine knew she would get a straight answer this time, because while Piccolo was in the trance, he would speak the truths about himself that even he himself refused to believe.

Piccolo's simple answer took a long time to come, "An end…"

"To what?" She urged him to continue, amazed at how easily the shell of hatred had been peeled away from his heart for this short time.

Another tear escaped his eye, "…the loneliness…"

Yasmine reached her hand out and cupped his face with her palm, using her thumb to gently wipe away his tears. Even though she knew she would have to prevent him from remembering this before she woke him up, she whispered, "It will end. I promise it will." Just as she had the first time, she passed her fingertips over his soft lips, then moved her hand away and said, "When I blow the flame out, you'll wake up feeling refreshed and with no memory of what we talked about. If you do remember any of it, it is a dream to you and nothing more." With that, Yasmine turned her head and blew on the twig until the flame went out and left a thin line of smoke as the only clue it had been there.

As soon as the flame was extinguished, Piccolo's eyes opened and darted to either side before glancing to Tategoto and finally to Yasmine.

"How do you feel?" Yasmine asked quietly as Piccolo straightened and stretched slightly.

"It…worked…" He blinked, then frowned and cocked his head at her, "I was dreaming strangely, and I never dream when I sleep… What did you do to me?"

"It's too complicated to explain." She chuckled. "But you slept soundly for exactly…" glancing at her watch, she continued, "ten minutes. You owe me." Her face lit up as another brief laugh escaped her lips, "Do you dance?"

Piccolo scratched the spot between his brow ridges and frowned. "Dance!?" He growled, "what are you trying to pull?"

Yasmine straightened, tapped her boom box with her toe and it started to play music, "I'm not pulling anything. Except maybe you." She laughed and grabbed his arm, trying to yank him to his feet, and only succeeded in falling down next to him to get a very close up look at one of his more intimidating facial expressions.

The Namekian emitted an angry hiss through clenched teeth as he yanked his arm away from Yasmine's grasp. "That's a good way to get yourself killed!" He glanced at Tategoto to see if any of this had disturbed him. The child was still sound asleep, and looking at him was enough to make Piccolo forget his anger for a moment.

"Being like that is the reason you're so alone." Yasmine said suddenly in response to his angry comment. "And you've been alone too long."

"Why do you care!?" Piccolo spat, standing up and sneering at her so forcefully that the entire bridge of his pointed nose disappeared into shadows cast by his brow ridges. He walked a few steps away from her and re-crossed his arms, keeping his back to her as the words to the song that was playing on the boom box started filtering into the air.  
_Just when I believed I couldn't ever want for more  
This ever changing world pushes me through another door_  
"Because!" Yasmine shouted back, then swallowed quickly when she realized that yelling at Piccolo could get him to do something worse then just plain yelling. The last part of her statement went unsaid, even though the words were burning fiercely in her throat. Instead, her voice lowered as she said, "I just do. Ever since last night, I've come to realize how much I do care about you."  
_I saw you smile  
And my mind could not erase the beauty of you face_  
Piccolo stiffened, bristling and clenching his teeth silently as her words reached his ears. He tried to push away each word, yet embraced them at the same time. "Quit playing mindgames with me, Yasmine." He growled softly.  
_Just for awhile  
Won't you let me shelter you  
_Yasmine risked walking closer to the angry Namekian and laid her hand lightly on the back of the collar of his shoulderpads. The material of his cape felt light and cool, almost like the material of a bedsheet feels, and yet it didn't seem as flimsy. She also felt Piccolo stiffen at the touch, but continued on and walked around in front of him. "I'm not playing any games with you Piccolo." She looked him directly in the eye, it being easy to get face to face since the top of her reached just below his eyes.  
_Hold on to the nights  
Hold on to the memories  
I wish that I could give you something more  
That I could be yours_  
"Grr!" Piccolo growled, then pressed his lips together tight to keep from cursing her out or flinging a ki blast from his mouth at her.

"Shhh…" She reached up and hushed him by placing her finger on his lips, catching him by surprise again with her gentleness. "Please, trust me." With that, Yasmine placed her other hand on the back of his neck, pulled him close and let her arms slide around him as she gave him the first hug he had ever gotten in his life.  
_How do we explain something that took us by surprise  
Promises in vain, love that is real but in disguise_  
Piccolo didn't know what to do, because the moment Yasmine's arms slipped around him, his emotions all seemed to collide at once. At first, he was absolutely ticked off that she would even dare to touch him, then he was momentarily afraid that he might hurt her, and finally that feeling with no name to it rose up among the others. So many emotions were moving at such speeds that not even Piccolo couldn't make sense of them all. While in the middle of this emotional swirl, he realized that he didn't want her to let go, even though he himself wasn't reacting to the embrace.  
_What happens now  
Do we break another rule  
Let our lovers play the fool_  
While she hugged him, Yasmine turned her head slightly and inhaled the scent of salt and dust that came from living outdoors. She could feel her heart beating swiftly in her chest, and could also feel his as it hammered wildly. It led her to wonder if he could feel hers as well. She could also feel him trembling slightly, but whether it was from fear or rage, she couldn't tell.  
_I don't know how  
To stop feeling this way_  
Before he realized what he was doing, Piccolo slowly bent his arms and grasped Yasmine's shoulders as he tried desperately to decide whether to hold her there or push her away. At the touch, Yasmine turned her head further to look at him and they found themselves face to face. Piccolo wanted so badly to turn away, and yet something, a hidden force from within, prevented that. Everything else seemed to go totally still for that moment, save for the sound from the small boom box and their soft breathing.  
_Hold on to the nights  
Hold on to the memories  
I wish that I could give you something more  
That I could be yours_  
Yasmine saw her chance, closed her eyes and inhaled. Then she carefully started to bring her face closer to Piccolo's, her lips parting slightly. Piccolo started to move his face closer to hers, his eyes started to close and their lips were about a centimeter apart when he suddenly became aware of what was happening. _What am I doing!?  
Well, I think that I've been true to everybody else but me  
And the way I feel about you makes my heart long to be free  
_Piccolo suddenly turned his head to the side. "Don't." He shrugged her arms away from his neck and backed out of the embrace, keeping his hands on her shoulders until he had moved her an arm's length away. Then he turned his back to her, his cape rustling as it settled against his back. He had this strange feeling like he wanted to cry, yet no tears fell. "What the hell is the matter with me?" The Namekian man asked himself under his breath.  
_Every time I look into your eyes, I'm helplessly aware  
That the someone I've been searching for is right there  
_Yasmine was slightly confused by Piccolo's reaction to what had almost happened, but not too surprised. She brushed her hair back and sighed, saying something she probably wouldn't have the courage to say again if she didn't say it now. "Piccolo…" Her courage started to falter, but her voice did not. "…I love you."  
_Hold on to the nights  
Hold on to the memories  
I wish that I could give you something more  
That I could be yours_  
As soon as the words reached his ears, Piccolo felt his mind grind to a halt. _Did she just say what I thought she said?_ He was silent for a long time, too angry with his emotional swirl to think straight and too lost in his thoughts to notice Yasmine had placed her hand on his until he saw her in front of him again. 

Jerking his hand away from hers, Piccolo said, "You're wasting your time, Yasmine. Find someone who can love you back." With that, he backed up a few steps, jumped up and flew away from the area as fast as possible, leaving Yasmine there alone with Tategoto.  
_Hold on to the nights._

  
To be continued… 


	8. Silent One: Chapter 8

Silent One  
Chapter 8

Yasmine watched in silence as Piccolo took off and flew away. So close, they had been so close that she could feel his breath on her face. She sighed, her brown skin gleaming in the dying light of the campfire as she turned her head to look down at Tategoto.

Tategoto was still sound asleep, smiling at a dream and curled up on his side with his cape draped around him like a blanket. His turban had come part-way off, and one of his little antennae were poking out from underneath. Yasmine reached down to fix the turban, but Tategoto's eyes popped open when she moved it.

****

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. Yasmine signed.

Yawning and showing off his fangs, Tategoto giggled and sleepily signed,** You didn't wake me up. I woke myself up.**

Grinning, she extended her pinkie and thumb, pointed her hand so that her bent fingers were facing the ground and bobbed it up and down three times, signing, **Oh, I see.**

The young Namekian boy sat up and stretched. His turban fell over his eyes, and the image was so comical that Yasmine started to giggle, wishing she had her camera as she reached over and pushed it up for him. Tategoto just giggled himself and fixed it so it was sitting correctly on his head. Then he shook the dirt off his cape and winced as the soreness from yesterday's workout started to make itself known.

****

Are you OK? Yasmine signed.

****

Sore. He signed back, **I started training yesterday. My father is fun!**

Yasmine nodded in agreement, then glanced up when the sky started to show signs that morning was coming. Tategoto scrambled to his feet and headed to the stream, sniffing the water before he took a drink. The water was warm, but the warmth didn't affect the taste. Yasmine sat down on the edge of the stream next to him, and when he plunged his hands into the water to wash his face, there was a small splash that got her wet.

"Hey!" She laughed and flicked a small amount of water at him.

"Gah!" Tategoto flinched away with a small squeal of delight, then quickly plunged his hand into the water and flung some more droplets back at her. The splash caught Yasmine full in the face and she made a surprised face at him as the water got her hair wet. She laughed, took off her shoes and started kicking her feet in the water. Laughing his squealing childlike laugh, Tategoto copied her, and they started kicking the water at each other.

The waterfight had officially begun.

Unseen, Piccolo stood on the top of a huge rock that looked like a giant stalagmite, watching Yasmine and Tategoto's waterfight. When he had first seen this starting to happen, he almost went down and put a stop to what was going on, but then something made him stop. The boy looked so…happy. Piccolo hated erasing that smile, and had ever since the time he'd almost killed Tategoto to "end his misery". _I think I'm glad I kept him around…_

Looking at Tategoto was both pleasure and pain to Piccolo. Pleasure because he knew that the boy would be a powerful fighter when he was older. Pain because he was like the image of the innocence that was lost so long ago.

The sun started to come up on Piccolo's left side, and the light fell over his shape until half of his body was in light and the other half was in shadow. Still, both of his gleaming onyx eyes stayed clearly visible, as if they had their own inner glow. He squinted and his cape rustled as he raised a hand to block the glare out of his eyes, then turned back to watch Yasmine and Tategoto. When he looked at Yasmine, he felt the same swirl of feelings that had flooded his mind when she'd nearly kissed him.

Those feelings scared Piccolo because he didn't understand them, or why he was having them. The closest he had ever come to loving anybody in any way was the time he'd trained Gohan and the times now with Tategoto. But those were the father/son kinds of love, and he hadn't really called it 'love'. Until Yasmine had said the words to him, he hadn't know what to name the swirling, hard-to-figure-out feeling.

__

I just don't understand…how…how could she say that she loves me? And why? Why do I feel so strange?

Piccolo's dark eyes flickered in the sunlight as another loud burst of Tategoto's laughter caught his attention again. Yasmine had him on his back on the ground and was going about tickling his sides, laughing at his squeals and giggles. Tategoto was kicking his feet and trying to tickle her back, but not having much success.

__

Is this feeling…

A faint smile pulled the corners of Piccolo's curving lips for a moment as he watched his son's flush-faced mirth, his large glittering black eyes visible even from so far away. Then he turned his eyes slightly to watch Yasmine as she tickled the child, the way her hair fell over her shoulders and almost touched the ground because it was so long. Tategoto kept grasping handfuls of it and letting go as he laughed.

__

…love?

"No! I can't be weak!" Piccolo said aloud at himself, then realized that Tategoto may have spotted him. He quickly dove off the rock he was standing on, caught himself with his ki and floated to the ground, straining his ears to hear if they were approaching or not. He knew that eventually, he'd have to go back there to get Tategoto so the day's training could commence.

__

I can't love…can I? I can't have kids with another person anyway, and if I'm correct, it takes two people to have kids on this planet. So what purpose does the emotion serve for someone that has no physical need for it? It just doesn't make sense!

But first he had to make sure that he could keep himself together when he had to face Yasmine. Steeling himself and hardening his expression, Piccolo walked around the large rock and trudged the several yards that seperated him from the other two, his cape dancing on the wind behind him as he moved.

__

I just don't know anymore…

****

That one is a monarch butterfly. Yasmine signed as she pointed to the picture in the book. She figured that she might as well entertain Tategoto until Piccolo returned, and she did love the child like he was her own son.

The emotional display Piccolo had shown led Yasmine to believe that in a small, hidden part of his heart, there was still a frightened child that needed to be held in comforting arms. What he had told her while under hypnosis had moved her to tears, knowing that he had been born into hatred and felt so lost. She had seen his _tears,_ something that he must have held back all his life.

"I did let him know how I feel…" Yasmine told herself as Tategoto tugged the sleeve of her shirt and pointed to a brownish-black butterfly with yellow and blue spots on the outer edges of its wings. She smiled and signed, **That's a mourning cloak.**

Tategoto giggled, linked his thumbs together and moved his fingers like wings. Yasmine imitated him and grinned, honking his tipped-up nose afterwards. He laughed and signed, **You're silly!**

You're more silly then me, She signed back.

"Ahee!" He shook his head and laughed as the wind ruffled the pages in the book, flipping them to a bunch of cocoon pictures. His large black eyes doubled in size and he pointed with a pointed white fingernail at the images and signed, **What are those?**

Those are cocoons. Her chocolate brown hands and manicured nails moved with water-like grace as she explained the entire life-cycle of a butterfly in sign language. The amazement on Tategoto's face kept growing and growing until his mouth was hanging partly open. _Oh, little Tategoto…your father is trapped in his own cocoon of pain and hate. Help me get him out before he suffocates…_ She thought as she finished the explanation.

****

Yasmine pretty like the butterflies. Tategoto signed.

Yasmine blushed at the compliment, touched her hand to her mouth and moved it away again to sign, **Thank you.**

Tategoto smiled just as a shadow fell over them both. Yasmine turned to see what was blocking out the sun and knew right away who it was when she saw a white cape out of the corner of her eye. Tategoto got to his feet and ran over to his father, crossing his arms to copy his stance.

Piccolo nodded down to Tategoto and briefly signed, **Start your stretches. You remember them don't you?**

The younger Namek nodded and immediately began a series of stretches that looked as if they might have been painful, but they worked the soreness out of his muscles. Piccolo started to go through the same stretches, doing them more casually then Tategoto was, and ended by sliding into several different versions of the splits, urging his son to go as far as he could. There was no sign language going on between them, but more of a silent conversation that consisted eye-to-eye looks and small nods of the head.

Yasmine watched them together in silence, the sun having dried her hair of all evidence of the waterfight. She had to say something to break this awkward silence, and needed to know whether or not she had ruined the fragile friendship she had with Piccolo. "…Piccolo?"

"Yeah?" Piccolo replied, ducking his head to stretch his neck and to avoid making eye contact.

"I'm sorry if I upset you earlier…" She paused to carefully think of what she wanted to say, her eyes lowering slightly, "I just wanted to tell you how I felt about you. So you could know that you have more then one person that cares about you, won't judge you by your past and won't forget about you." She strode to a large rock and leaned on it with her arms crossed, letting her long dark hair fall around her. It was loose, so the slightest breeze would cause it to flutter like the feathers of a raven's wing. "So please…don't be angry with me…"

As always, Piccolo turned his back to her to make himself feel more comfortable when he spoke to her. "I'm not angry with you, Yasmine." He said in a low voice that was almost a whisper, but still containing the cold raspy edge that his voice always seemed to have.

"Then what are you angry at? You're mad at something, so what is it?" Yasmine's voice grew in strength as she felt her courage rising again. She stopped leaning on the rock and stood up straight, staring straight at the back of Piccolo's head. 

The large Namekian was silent, watching the younger one finish his stretches.

"Don't stay locked in that shell of hate forever, Piccolo. One of these days it'll collapse and crush you."

Piccolo tightened his lips and forced down the volcanic explosion of anger that was trying to rise up. He bore his teeth, whipped around fiercely and clenched his fist in front of him as his cape fluttered around his body. "Don't tell me what to do, Yasmine. I'm an adult now and can handle things fine alone." He didn't dare turn around again, knowing that he might accidentally hit Tategoto if he did.

Tategoto tugged on his father's gi pants, trying to make him calm down. Piccolo glanced down at him and sighed, letting his face relax to emotionless to satisfy the child's concerns. He pointed to the west to indicate the direction they were going to run, then turned his attention back to Yasmine.

"You've been alone too long, Piccolo. I told you that before and I'm telling you again." Her voice lowered slightly as she took another step towards him, knowing full well by the way he was tensing that he could do anything at any moment. "You're still a child, deep in your heart. Trapped and afraid."

Angrier then a hornet, Piccolo growled under his breath and clenched his fists until purple blood started to flow. Yasmine was right, and he was pissed at himself for letting her get too close to partially figure out what made him tick. The pain brought him back to awareness and he realized what he'd done to his hands, able to vaguely smell the blood as it dripped to the ground. He shook off the memories it brought and leveled his eyes with Yasmine's. "I am Ma Junior, son of Piccolo Daimaou, the Demon King. I fear NOTHING!!!!!!"

"Except maybe the truth!" Yasmine shouted back.

Piccolo suddenly turned and threw a single punch that reduced the tree next to him into splinters. The fire behind his eyes was growing out of control. He could feel the pulsations in his muscles as his power level rose slightly, but he forced it back down again before he did something too dangerous. "I. Fear. Nothing." The words weren't totally honest, but much easier to say then to admit that he was wrong in saying them.

An odd look came to Yasmine's face when she looked down at the spot where Tategoto was a few seconds ago. Then she glanced around to see if he was hiding somewhere, but she didn't see him anywhere. "Piccolo…"

"What!? What now!?" The angry Namekian snarled, V-shaped wrinkles forming on the bridge of his nose and giving him a feral look. When angry, he seemed to grow a foot taller then he really was, and the large shoulderpads and magnificent cape only added to that, making him all the more intimidating.

"…Where's Tategoto?"

Tategoto had gone ahead and started to jog, not aware that his father wasn't following and unaware of the verbal dispute that was going on behind him. He ran tirelessly, continuing on until he was ready to signal that he was tired. Then he realized that nobody was behind him and stopped, panting and afraid. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of his green face, and any that were wiped away were quickly replaced.

__

Looks like I have to stay by myself 'till father comes to get me. Tategoto thought as he sat down and rested his elbows on his knees.

Vibrations on the ground made him jump to his feet a moment later, and he watched as a herd of frightened triceratops-like dinosaurs appeared in the distance. Trailing behind them, with a gaping set of slavering jaws full of swordlike teeth, was a very hungry looking tyranosaurus-like lizard with armor plates growing out of its head. Only when they came a little closer did Tategoto realize that they were heading straight at him.

The dinosaur that was giving chase opened it's mouth, and Tategoto felt an intense vibration as it roared.

Scared out of his young mind, the young Namek started to run, trying to ignore the vibrations that jarred his teeth and sternum. The moment he turned to check over his shoulder, his foot caught in a root and sent him sprawling onto the ground. He saw stars for a moment and the world seemed to slow down as a wave of nausea cruised through his body, and a hoarse, animalistic childlike cry of pain escaped his throat. 

By the time Tategoto had regained his senses and had managed to get to his knees, the heard of running dinosaurs was already upon him.

__

To be continued… 


	9. Silent One: Chapter 9

Silent One  
Chapter 9

Vibrations everywhere. That was all Tategoto could feel as the massive herd of terrified dinosaurs swept around him. He curled up in a ball to make himself as small as possible, whimpering softly in fear as massive feet came within inches of crushing him. At the same time, he managed to crawl to a rock that the large lizards had to hop over to pass, and that offered some cover.

The vibrations stopped, Tategoto took his hands away from his eyes and nearly screamed. Standing right above him was the hungry T-Rex. It's foot came down on the rock he was hiding behind, and one of it's massive toe-claws came within mere inches of his small green face. When the T-Rex opened it's mouth, a massive, bone-jarring vibration slammed into Tategoto's body. _Don't look down! Don't look down whatever you do you ugly lizard…_

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Tategoto let a tiny whimper without realizing he'd made a sound and instantly, the giant dinosaur looked down at him with glistening feral eyes. It stepped off the rock and lowered it's head all the way down. Wet, hot and rotting-flesh-scented air billowed out over the little Namek, ruffling his clothes as the T-Rex sniffed at him. Tategoto didn't even breathe, let alone move, and prayed that by some chance the lizard would lose interest or not see him. More vibrations filled the air as the Tyrannosaurus growled softly.

If he moved, he would die. If he didn't move, he would die. That's all Tategoto knew as the dinosaur's head drew back for the final lunge. The little Namekian boy could feel a tingling heat build in his body, and his vision became speckled with white glittery light as something inside him ignited and started to grow.

The T-Rex's slavering maw gaped, its sword-like teeth showing a deadly gleam in the sun as its massive head lunged forward.

In a display much like Gohan's first showing of power, Tategoto screamed a scream so loud that it nearly penetrated his world of eternal silence as he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the end. The tingling heat inside of his body seemed to reach a climax, and an almost angelic white light erupted from his body. His cape fluttered around him like wings as the light shot forth from his outstretched arms and slammed into the dinosaur, which didn't even have a chance. When the light faded, the T-Rex's entire upper body had been incinerated, and the remaining parts just dropped to the ground limply. There was no blood because the beam had actually cauterized where it had cut. And the light didn't just take apart the T-Rex, however; it also took out the cliffs behind it for almost a full mile.

Spent and not even knowing what he had just done, Tategoto collapsed into unconsciousness.

__

Tategoto is OK. He would know to stay under cover…I'll spot him and he'll come running up to me like always… Piccolo thought as he and Yasmine searched. He was carrying Yasmine with him as he flew, searching the ground and bushes with his keen eyes for any sign of his son. A strange fear was pumping through his veins, and Piccolo didn't have the time to sit down and realize that he was feeling worried about another person for the first time in his life.

Yasmine could not believe the look on Piccolo's face when she'd told him that Tategoto was missing. The angry expression had just vanished faster then a lightning bolt can flash. If the situation hadn't been as serious as it was, it might have been funny. She also noticed the way Tategoto's presence would always calm Piccolo down just a tad. Whether it be a look, a touch or a little sound he made, the little boy seemed to have something about him that momentarily pacified the ever-churning storm within his father's heart.

Piccolo jerked his head as if someone had struck him across the face, his senses going into overdrive as he picked up a very high power level somewhere in the southwest. "Holy sh - "

"PICCOLO!! LOOK OUT!!!" Yasmine screamed as a white beam of light erupted from the distant cliffs, obliterating anything in its path.

"Whoa!" Piccolo's heart nearly flipped out of his chest from the shock of what he glimpsed, and he almost froze in mid flight. He got over the shock quickly and was just in time to dive low to avoid the beam of light, and Yasmine was so scared that she buried her face in his neck and practically choked him because her grip was so tight. Nearly hitting the ground from the swift descent, Piccolo glanced back at the beam before it disappeared. The pearly white beam of light had to be at least twenty or so feet in diameter. When he finally regained his minorly lost composure, his black eyes darted towards Yasmine to make sure he didn't hit the ground without knowing it and hurt her. "Are you still alive?" He asked, a cold edge in his voice that often came when he was trying not to sound too angry.

Trembling, her long brown arms still in a death-grip around his neck, she managed to utter a faint, "Yes."

Nodding slightly, Piccolo rose up and turned, his cape rustling around him as he followed the direction he felt the intense power coming from. The closer he got to where the light had come from, the stronger the stench of burnt flesh became, and pillars of smoke were rising from several places on the ground. Especially from the lower-body of a dead dinosaur.

Setting down, Piccolo looked at Yasmine since she still had a vice-like grip on his neck and said, "You can let go now."

Yasmine's chocolate-brown cheeks darkened slightly as she blushed and released her grip from Piccolo's neck. Before she could even raise her voice to thank him, she heard a rustle of cloth as he flipped his cape back over his shoulder and looked around, calling out Tategoto's name once even though he knew there would be no reply.

"Look!" Yasmine pointed to a faint shape behind a curtain of smoke. The breeze parted the smoke long enough to give a glimpse of a green hand.

That was all Piccolo needed, but then he saw Tategoto wasn't moving and a wave of dread briefly washed over him as he held his breath to see if he would get up or not. When the small form didn't move, Piccolo almost felt like he wanted to throw up as he walked over and knelt by his son's side. Yasmine came and got onto her knees next to him, waving her hand to disperse the smoke so she could see and breathe.

With the most gentle care he had ever displayed, Piccolo lifted Tategoto into his arms and shook him a little. At first, nothing happened except for the boy's turban falling off, but then Tategoto stirred slightly, coughing on the smoke as he opened his eyes.

"He's alive." Yasmine breathed, relieved. She wiped the damp sweat from her forehead and pushed her dark hair over her shoulder.

"Dah!" Tategoto trilled happily and grabbed a handful of his father's cape when he realized that he wasn't dreaming.

The relief was so evident on Piccolo's face that there was no way to deny it as he signed to Tategoto, **Are you OK?**

Yes. The younger Namekian signed back before reaching for his turban. Then his eyes fell upon the obliterated T-Rex and cliffs. The large black orbs doubled in size as he signed quickly, **What did that!?**

Piccolo extended his index finger and pointed it right at Tategoto's chest, then signed, **You did. I know you don't remember doing it, but with practice you will be able to control that power. I always knew it was sleeping inside you.**

Secretly, so only Tategoto would see it, Yasmine signed, **Your father is very proud of you.**

Tategoto grinned quietly, then his eyes slid shut and he started to snore quietly as he drifted back to sleep. Piccolo just placed his hands under the small child and lifted him, feeling a small lump in his throat for a reason he couldn't name at the time. He looked down at his son for a moment, then turned his head to check out the damage one more time. Something glittered in the corner of the tall Namekian's eye, and Yasmine noticed it right away.

"What are YOU crying about?" She mused.

"…Wha?" Piccolo wiped the tear out of the corner of his eye with the back of his large green hand and frowned. "Shut up! It's the damn smoke!" He lied, walking over to Yasmine and wrapping his long arm completely around her waist, catching her by surprise. Then he lifted off and started flying back to where the campsite was, his white cape flapping in the wind behind him.

"Are you sure he's OK?" Yasmine asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

Piccolo glanced at the sleeping Tategoto in his other arm and nodded. "He's just used up all of his energy. It's a common thing when ki powers first make their presence known."

"What causes it to 'come out' like that?"

"Usually extreme rage or fear can do it. Have you ever gotten so pissed off that you felt like you were gonna explode, or at least rip the head off the next person that even thought about looking at you wrong?" Piccolo asked, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice as he kept his eyes turned to the horizon ahead.

"A few times." Yasmine chuckled to herself.

"Well, get someone like Tategoto that angry and they'll shoot a beam just like he did. But I think fear set this firecracker off." He glanced at Tategoto and allowed a small smirk of pride to curl the corner of his mouth upwards. When they were about ten feet from the campsite, Piccolo released his ki, allowing gravity and momentum to carry him to the ground and leaving Yasmine quite amazed when he still managed to touch down as gently as a feather.

"Hey, wait a sec." Yasmine commented, noticing the wound on Piccolo's hand from earlier. It was still bleeding a little, and the mark stretched all the way across his palm.

"What!?" Piccolo scowled briefly as he carefully put Tategoto down near a log so he would be in the shade until he woke up. Tategoto murmured in his sleep as he curled up on his side and continued to snore quietly.

Without answering, Yasmine took a handkerchief out of her pocket and walked over to the stream so she could dip the wispy white material into the warm water. She wrung it out, strode back over to Piccolo and gently took hold of his wrist with her long brown fingers as she pressed the moist cloth to the wound. 

Piccolo didn't know what to do, or what emotion to feel for that matter, and just stared down at the brown hands holding his wounded green one. The same tornado of emotions that had overcome his mind when Yasmine hugged him was coming back as she gently wiped away the purple blood and tied the handkerchief around his hand to cover the wound once it was clean.

Yasmine feigned applying pressure over the bandage so she could hold onto his hand a little longer. Amazing as it seemed, she thought that he had relatively soft skin. That is, softer then it looked. There were a few old scars on the large arm that the hand was attached to, of course, but there were no calluses or blisters on his palm, and usually a person like Piccolo that lived outside all the time would have at least one or two. The only marks on his smooth green palm were the natural folds and the purple wounds that had just been covered.

__

What is he thinking now? What goes through his mind? She asked herself silently, glancing up at Piccolo to see what he was doing.

Piccolo had turned his head to the side and his dark eyes were fixed on the stream so he could look at Yasmine's reflection in the water. Her loose hair reminded him of the feathers of a raven, and her eyes were coal black, almost as dark as his own. The most startling thing about her, to Piccolo at least, was her height. Never had he ever known a woman as tall as she was. Usually, he liked to use his height to intimidate people, and that was hard to do with her.

"What are you thinking?" Yasmine asked quietly, her voice waking him from his reverie.

"Not much. Just that you seem to ask a lot of questions." Piccolo muttered, glancing over at Tategoto to make sure he was OK and keeping his head turned so he didn't have to make eye contact with Yasmine. He had forgotten for the moment that she still held his hand in both of hers.

Chuckling quietly, she said, "Well, it's kind of hard not to ask a guy like you a lot of questions." She tilted her head to the side so that some of her hair covered one eye while she looked up at him with the eye that was still visible. "Last night…you told me to find someone that can love me back, and made yourself sound as if you can't love. If that's true, then how come you were leaning in like I was? I mean…we did almost kiss each other…"

The unexpected question that was like having ice water dashed into his face. Piccolo frowned slightly as he searched his mind for an answer that he couldn't find. The frown deepened as he cursed himself silently and replied with a simple, "I don't know why."

"I think you're too afraid to ruin your 'bad-ass' image." She mused, putting one hand over her mouth and giggling quietly for a brief moment, then became serious when he scowled at her. "Or could it be that you don't know how?"

__

Dammit Yasmine! Shut up and stop figuring me out! Piccolo gritted his teeth silently, deciding not to mention the time he sacrificed himself for Gohan and glanced at Tategoto when he saw that he was waking up. Tategoto grinned as he rubbed his onyx eyes, got up and walked over to where Yasmine and Piccolo were.

Yasmine tapped on Tategoto's shoulder to get his attention, and when he looked up at her, she signed with her back to Piccolo, **Let's show your father what a big hug looks like, OK?**

OK. Tategoto signed back, smiling as Yasmine bent down so he could hug her around the neck and gently curled her long arms around him.

She grinned up at Piccolo, who just stood there looking at them with his arms crossed, the wind gently ruffling his white cape and making it ripple like water. Looking back at Tategoto, she signed, **I'm going to go away for a little while. When your father sits down, I want you to give him a big hug like you gave me, OK?** She kept her back to Piccolo so he couldn't see what she was signing. Not that he was paying much attention to the sign language anyway.

Tategoto nodded, releasing his hold around Yasmine's neck. Yasmine stood up again and looked over at Piccolo, flashed a brief smile at him and walked off to her car, which was still in its hidden location. Once there, she got her camera and took up a spot where she could see them and watched to see what would happen.

Having nothing better to do, Piccolo huffed to himself as he headed over next to a large rock, sat down indian style and crossed his arms. His eyes closed, his face lost all expression and he let out a noisy sigh as he started to let his mind go blank so he could focus on one part of his consciousness.

The moment he saw his dad sit down, Tategoto walked over to where he was and stood in front of him for a moment to admire him. Piccolo sensed the presence and opened his eyes to look at the miniature version of himself. "What? What do you want, kid?" He asked aloud, then signed the question out with his hands.

Tategoto's reply came when he got on his knees in Piccolo's lap, grunted softly and wrapped his small arms around his large neck, his little arms being just long enough to make it all the way around. Piccolo was left at a loss for what to do, just as he had been with Yasmine. His son had never hugged him before. Sure, Tategoto would cling to his father's clothes or cape when they flew, but he'd never hugged him before. Not like this.

Yasmine watched the change come to Piccolo's expression, got her camera ready and started snapping pictures.

__

What do I do? Push him away? The Namekian asked himself in shock as he felt Tategoto give his neck an affectionate squeeze.

A strange new feeling seemed to ignite in Piccolo's heart as he felt Tategoto's little heartbeat against his chest, throbbing with life, and a new realization came to his mind. This was his own flesh and blood, a being that he had created; this new young life that was part of his soul, so warm and alive, was there in his arms. _His life came from mine…_

Closing his eyes again, the Namekian slowly uncrossed his arms and left no more room for doubt in his mind. With a moment of hesitation, Piccolo extended his arms forward, slowly wrapped them around Tategoto's warm body and held him, bringing that small throbbing heartbeat closer to his own. Tategoto responded with a happy murmur as his grip tightened a little. Peaceful contentment momentarily come over Piccolo, and he smiled slightly as he experienced the joy of hugging his child for the very first time in his life.

For a brief moment in time, the endlessly churning storm in his battered soul had been stilled.

__

To be continued… 


	10. Silent One: Chapter 10

Silent One  
Chapter 10

The room was totally dark, save for the one eerie red light. The scent of chemicals filled the air. Pieces of glossy paper were hung on a string like clothes hung on a clothesline. Classical music, Fur Elise, was playing in the background. A dark figure moved throughout the room, hanging up various of those pieces of glossy paper while settling the others into the chemicals with a pair of large tweezers. 

The last piece of paper that had been hung up started to fade in and show the image of an adult Namek sitting cross-legged with a younger one mimicking the position while in his lap. The little one had his head turned and was grinning, and the bigger one was grinning back. Another one showed the big one with his hand on the little one's forehead as the little one slept. There were also a few of the old, wrinkled Namek with the little one as well, and the figure at work developing the images found those just as sweet.

"Whew. Now all they have to do is dry." Yasmine said to herself, "Either he'll love it or hate it…" She took a peek at a few of the pictures as they dried, smiling slightly and pleased that she was doing so well for a beginner photographer. Each image was a little glimpse of a tender moment between Piccolo and Tategoto. Moments when Piccolo was out of that shell he always had around his heart. 

__

Too bad he darts back in when I come around… She thought, twirling a lock of her long ebony hair between her fingers.

"Heeyah!" Piccolo gracefully flipped to his feet after completing his set of push-ups, letting his cape settle around him as he watched Tategoto finishing up his own set.

Tategoto was moving like a piston, much faster compared to the trembling struggle he had to put up when he first started training. It left Piccolo amazed at what only a few months of training had done for his son, and he was very proud of the boy as well.

The little Namek finished his training and tried to flip to his feet like his father had just done, but didn't have as much success. He landed on his rear end with his cape over his head, and the effect was so funny that Piccolo bit his lip to keep from openly laughing as he reached over and pulled the cape aside. Tategoto got up, rubbing his behind and laughing. He shrugged up at Piccolo as if to say 'I tried. Maybe next time.'

****

Do you feel ready for me to teach you some fighting moves? Piccolo signed, his expression and posture turning serious once again. Tategoto looked up and a sparkle passed his eye as he nodded, excited to learn something new. Nodding back, Piccolo uncrossed his arms and took on a fighting stance. "Watch." He whispered quietly as he raised his hand to his face and pointed between his eyes to make sure Tategoto would watch his every move. When Tategoto's full attention was on him, he quickly started to demonstrate his graceful fighting moves. It was like he was dancing, every liquid-steel muscle rippling with the ease of water, his cape only adding to that appearance. When he finished the brief display, he turned to Tategoto and signed, **Now, try some of those on your own.**

Tategoto nodded, straightened his turban out and took a deep breath. He assumed the same stance Piccolo had shown, looking to him for approval before continuing. Piccolo watched with pride in his eyes as his child grunted and threw his first punches at the open air. They were clumsy, but with training, they would be a force to fear.

"Yes…soon we'll be able to spar…" The Namekian man said quietly, biting his lip to hide a smile.

The photographs were all developed, and Yasmine smiled to herself as she slowly plucked them from the string they were hanging on. She carried them out to her living room where a photo album was laying open on the soft couch, shook her sable hair out of her face and sat down, dropping the small pile of photos on the floor by her foot.

"Now…" Yasmine said to herself, "Time to make some memories." Grasping the photograph by the edge to avoid getting fingerprints on its glossy surface, she carefully opened the photo album to the first page and slid the picture under the protective plastic. It was a sweet side-view image of Piccolo staring straight ahead at something outside the photo. Tategoto was next to him, his head turned slightly so his whole face was visible in the shot and a smile was just barely visible on his lips. _So cute, those two…_

Many months passed, and Piccolo's daily routine with Tategoto had changed drastically from just a warm-up jog, push-ups and sit-ups. Now, on top of all of those, they sparred, and some weight was added to the child's clothing. Instead of two pounds, his shoulderpads weighed about eight pounds and his turban weighed at least three.

Of course, sparring Tategoto was also difficult for Piccolo to do. Usually he would start the spar with a word. Since talking to the boy wouldn't work in this case, Piccolo would just get into his fighting stance and Tategoto would always copy him. Being the little fireball that he was, Tategoto was always ready to start a spar, and it didn't take him long to be able to mirror his father's moves. In fact, he got to be so good at sparring that he and Piccolo often tired each other out.

As if to add to his changing abilities, Tategoto's young body was starting to change as well. His pudgy child-like baby fat was almost completely replaced with hard rippling muscles, and he could run for hours next to Piccolo without missing a beat. Plus, he was growing a bit too, and stood about waist high next to his father.

"Hah!" Piccolo slid low along the ground, kicking up dust as he moved in an attempt to sweep Tategoto's legs out from under him. Tategoto countered by leaping gracefully over the outstretched leg and side-kicking at the kneecap while it was still in motion. The long, strong leg just kept going as if nothing had happened, and Tategoto found himself on his back.

"Oy." The young Namek breathed, not realizing that he was making noises. He kicked his legs and flipped immediately to his feet when Piccolo came at him with his searing eye lasers. Tategoto then used his size as an advantage and dove between his father's legs, wrapped his arms around them and stood up, effectively tripping him. Not before a fist planted itself in his back, however, and he let out a shriek of pain, having been caught off-guard.

****

You must keep your eye on your enemy. Piccolo signed after he signaled for the spar to stop, being only slightly winded. **Until you learn to sense ki, you must watch your enemy's every move.**

Hard to do when the enemy goes behind you. Tategoto signed back, wiping the sweat off his brow ridges.

****

I know. You are what many people would call different. The taller Namekian hated to tell this to his child, but he knew that the young boy would figure it out sooner or later. He rubbed the purple bruise on his chin that he got when Tategoto got a pretty good uppercut in before being knocked away. The spot was pretty sore and slightly swollen, but would be fine in a day.

****

How am I different? The little Namek asked, his brow ridges drawing together and his black eyes glimmering with curiosity.

****

You can't hear. It is impossible to explain sound… Piccolo's signing seemed to trail off as he sighed, needing to find a way to explain this Tategoto. **Never, **He tapped the boy's shoulder to get his attention when it started to stray. **Never think of yourself as less of a person. If anybody ever says you are, show them they're wrong.**

Tategoto grinned and nodded his head, flipping his small cape over his shoulder and puffing out his chest the way his father did. Piccolo grinned for a moment in spite of himself, crossing his arms as he looked down at what looked like his miniature twin in every way. Then his ears perked as he heard the sound of a hover-car being turned off, and his eyes darted around briefly as he looked around, then caught sight of a tall, willowy figure approaching. When he saw the figure, he relaxed and momentarily stared at her as she approached with long, graceful steps. Black braids swung gently behind her and her brown skin shone easily in the bright sun.

"Hey Piccolo!" Yasmine called when she was close enough, waving with one hand since she had a brightly wrapped gift in the other. **Hello**, she signed to the younger Namekian with a grin.

Tategoto waved, grunting happily when he saw the present. **Who's that for?**

Both of you. Yasmine signed back, coming to a stop next to Piccolo. "Both of you." She said aloud, looking over at the older Namekian with a smile. "Especially you Piccolo."

Piccolo just blinked, a bit shocked since nobody had ever given him a gift before. Deep inside, he was touched, but he would never admit it. His onyx eyes studied the gift, then the expression on Yasmine's face as he extended his large hand to receive it. "Why a gift?"

"Just because." She wiped the beads of sweat off her forehead and let her hand continue back over the top of her head for a moment, "Open it. Tategoto sure looks like he wants to see what it is." She glanced down at Tategoto, giggling when he started to bounce impatiently with the same excitement any child gets when they're going to get something new.

Frowning, Piccolo sighed in annoyance and used one pass of his pointed fingernail to rip a clean line in the paper. Then he tore it off and tossed it aside to find himself looking at a plain brown box. Twisting his lips to the side briefly, he flipped the lid off and let it fall to the ground and discovered a leather-bound black book. "What the…? What's this?"

"I'll show you." Yasmine lifted the thick book out of the box and nodded towards a tree, then headed over and sat down. Tategoto was practically running her down in his excitement to see what was inside the book.

****

Is it more butterflies? He asked, laughing.

****

No, silly. She laughed, shaking her head as Piccolo sat down on her other side and lifted the book from her hands. Yasmine reached over and opened the book, exposing the first four photographs she had taken.

Piccolo's eyes widened and his mind literally came to a halt when he saw the images of himself and Tategoto. It was as if someone had torn the memories from his mind and put them there in that book, and each time he turned the page, there were more images of gentle moments. It did, however, give him mixed feelings. Anger was one of them, because he knew that he'd been spied on. Happiness, knowing that the images were frozen there for good, un-changeable and permanent. He was also confused as to why Yasmine would go out of her way to do this, and found himself at a loss for words. That funny feeling that he still wasn't sure what to name seemed to rise above them all. That strange urge to cry that never really brought tears.

****

That's me! Tategoto grinned, pointing at himself in the pictures. **There's my father!** He giggled in delight as Piccolo put the book down and walked over by the waterfall to be by himself for a moment.

****

That's right. Yasmine signed, grinning. **Keep looking at the pictures. I'm going to go see how your father is.**

Nodding, Tategoto then signed, **Give him a hug.**

She winked, then stood up and walked to where Piccolo was standing. Piccolo's face was stoic, his eyes directed towards the waterfall. The wind was ruffling his cape gently, causing it to brush Yasmine's legs slightly. Since her hair was braided, the wind didn't do much to it. Tategoto just kept giggling to himself in the background.

Heaving a sigh, Piccolo asked in a tone so low that it was nearly a whisper, "Why were you spying on me and my son?"

"I wasn't spying, I was watching." She paused, choosing her words carefully as she stepped closer to where he was standing, "I wanted to catch those moments and make them permanent, Piccolo. To remind you that you _are capable_ of loving someone."

Piccolo didn't know what to think anymore, and slowly closed his eyes as he lowered his head. He wanted to say thanks, but the word never left his throat. Instead, he asked in a semi-cold tone, "What do I owe you then?"

Yasmine blushed and glanced over at Tategoto, smiled, then looked back at Piccolo. "A hug."

The answer made Piccolo nearly choke on his own spit, he coughed once and looked at Yasmine like 'you've gotta be kidding!'. "A hug!?" His brow ridges drew together as he frowned and the urge to take off and leave came to him in quite a rush.

"You gave one to Tategoto once. It's the same thing, only I'm bigger." She giggled and stepped closer, until they were just about face to face, looking at each other eye to eye. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tategoto glance up and smile. "My feelings for you haven't changed, Piccolo. I don't think they ever will."

In a vain attempt to sound angry, Piccolo clenched his fist and asked, "Why DO you feel like that!? Why do you insist on trying to love someone that doesn't know how - " He stopped, " - that can't love you back?!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the Namekian cursed himself mentally for letting that slip, and closed his eyes in something much like shame. As if to cover his blunder, he gritted his teeth and said quickly in a low hiss, "I have no physical need for the emotion, so why have it?"

Yasmine reached over and took his fist between her two hands and said, "We all need to feel it at some time in our lives. When it happens, it just happens. There's no controlling it." She took his hand and brushed it against her cheek, watching his expression change to anger and then confusion. "What are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not 'afraid' of anything." Piccolo retorted, taking a small step back when Yasmine stepped closer.

"Shhh, it's OK." She whispered, reaching her hand up towards his face and brushing her fingertips across his lower lip. That stopped Piccolo in his tracks, and she felt warm air brush across her fingertips as he sighed. For a split second, he almost looked like he was going to cry, but the expression hardened again, the turmoil within him clearly visible. "I'm not going to hurt you. Ever." Yasmine moved closer, slipping her arms around his neck and holding him close.

Piccolo's mind was a vortex of emotion, as it always became when he was near Yasmine, and resolved his expression to a simple frown as he felt her arms encircle his neck. The caress was what froze him in place; the same caress that started evoking the swirl of emotion in the first place, the emotion that he finally had a name for. The Namekian kept his arms at his sides and looked over Yasmine's shoulder to see Tategoto, who was looking at him hopefully.

****

Hug her like you did me. The child signed simply.

Piccolo grimaced for a moment, his arms becoming two logs hanging from his shoulders, his fists two hard knobs of wood. He saw Tategoto sign the same sentence again. Knowing full well that he would do anything for his son, no matter what, Piccolo slowly closed his eyes and sighed against Yasmine's shoulder. He could feel her heartbeat the same way he had felt Tategoto's. That throbbing feeling of life, so close. He wanted it closer. So slowly, Piccolo moved his arms forward and wrapped loosely around Yasmine's waist, pulling her closer so that her heartbeat was right next to his. For another moment in time, the churning storm in his heart was calm.

The moment she felt Piccolo's arms around her waist, Yasmine closed her eyes and smiled, hugging him tighter, able to feel his heartbeat with hers. Piccolo seemed to tense and relax at the same time, the wind ruffling his cape slightly. She moved one hand up to the back of his head and buried her face against his neck, but he didn't make any moves in response. That didn't matter; he was hugging her back. That was all that mattered.

Finally, after what seemed like a long eternity, Piccolo allowed his arms to slide away from Yasmine and come to rest at his sides. Yasmine took this signal, understanding that he wanted her to let go, so she did. But not before turning her head and touching her lips to the warm skin on his cheek. Surprised, Piccolo turned his head to look at her, and she smiled as she turned towards where she'd parked her car and started to walk away without a word. Everything she needed to say was said with that quick, simple kiss.

After she was out of sight, Tategoto got up and tugged on his father's cape. When Piccolo looked down, the young Namek signed, **I love her.**

I know you do. Piccolo signed back. 

Tategoto looked up at him with that innocent smile of his that made his eyes sparkle beautifully and signed, **Do _you_ love her? **No answer came for a long time as Piccolo stared at the waterfall where he and Yasmine had just hugged. _It's time to face it…I can't run from my emotions forever. _Turning to the boy, the tall Namekian man slowly signed a single word.

****

Yes.

  
_To be continued… _


	11. Silent One: Chapter 11

Silent One  
Chapter 11

Piccolo slowly moved his hand away from Tategoto's forehead when he was sure the child was asleep. Just a few short hours before, he had admitted something that he never thought he would have to. He moved back and settled against a tree, crossing his arms and looking up at the clear star-speckled sky.

At first, Piccolo thought that he would just leave right then and tell Yasmine to get it over with, but something else in his mind told him to just wait. "This is crazy." He muttered to himself, lowering his eyes to the dancing orange campfire in front of him before picking up the little photo album that Yasmine had given to him since he didn't really look at it while she was there. Piccolo's expression softened a great deal, almost the way it did when he slept, as he looked at those images, actually seeing himself being gentle for once and realizing that there was no denying the 'inner' part of him anymore.

"Heh." Piccolo smirked a bit to himself when he saw the picture of Kami squatting down in front of Tategoto. "Crazy old fart." He brushed his long, pointed fingernail over Tategoto's image briefly before turning the page to see the image of himself hugging the child. That image seemed to shock him more then the rest, and his eyes turned from the photo on the page to the sleeping child next to the campfire.

Tategoto was on his back, snoring softly with his mouth halfway open and his cape wrapped around his torso. Piccolo chuckled to himself as he reached his large hand over and gently pushed Tategoto's jaw shut, thus ending the snoring. Then he turned his attention back to the photo album to see the last picture. It was an image of Tategoto alone, but he was standing there with his arms crossed and trying to look mean, but was only making himself look cute. The Namekian man carefully examined the image, "Looks like me as a kid…"

Piccolo's glistening onyx eyes slowly turned to Tategoto again. _If it wasn't for him, I would have never met Yasmine in the first place…I would have never been as…happy…is this really what it feels like to be happy?_ He looked up at the sky and all the stars, which used to seem so distant and dim, were all brilliant and blazing orbs of glistening light. His eyes seemed to reflect that shimmer, and didn't seem so dark anymore. The inner glow within them wasn't so dull. Looking down at Tategoto again, Piccolo ran his hand gently over the boy's head, smoothing down the fabric of his turban down. "Thank you." He whispered simply, then moved away to settle under a tree so he could sleep.

When Tategoto awoke in the morning, Piccolo was still asleep, sitting up against a tree with his head back against the bark. Knowing that his father sometimes slept in until the sun hit him, the child went through his morning stretches so he'd be ready to start training when it was time.

__

Father looks happy…Tategoto thought to himself when he noticed the smile Piccolo was barely displaying as he slept, the photo album lying next to him. Grinning, Tategoto walked closer to pick up the photo album, and was met with a sudden fist in his side. "Aagh!"

****

Never trust your opponent when he is down or unmoving. Piccolo signed quickly, looking down at Tategoto, who was rubbing his sore side and sneering. **Let that be a lesson to you. It also works both ways.**

Both ways? Like a fake-out? Tategoto signed back, and received an approving nod from his father. The sun started to come up, outlining the tall figure and the smaller one in front of him, and their shadows seemed to stretch on forever. The wind caught their capes and caused them to gently rustle. The little boy just kept grinning innocently as Piccolo walked past him to start his stretches. The moment his father's back was turned, Tategoto rushed him from behind and spun around, his short leg sticking out to perform a sweep kick.

Piccolo heard it coming and quickly dodged it with a simple hop, turned and growled softly, then signed, **Nice try kid.** He smirked, then started into his stretches. **When we finish our spar today, I am going to drop you off at Bulma's home.**

Why?

I'm going to go talk to Yasmine.

Tategoto grinned and nodded in agreement, then waited for Piccolo to finish stretching so they could start their morning spar.

Bulma pulled her sea-blue hair back with a scrunchie as she settled Tategoto down in front of the TV and hoped the images on the screen would keep him entertained while she fixed Vegeta's lunch. Piccolo stood by the door with his arms crossed, just making sure that everything would be OK while he was gone. After all, it had been a while since he'd let the boy out of his sight for more then a few minutes.

"He'll be fine, Piccolo." Bulma told him as she clinked things around in the kitchen. "You go do whatever it is you need to do."

Genuinely annoyed, Piccolo just nodded his head and wrinkled his nose, glancing once more at the miniature version of himself. Then he turned around and left, levitating upwards until he was just above the tree-line. Once at that low altitude, he flew the short, colorful flight to Yasmine's place.

Yasmine's house was easy to pick out since it was the nicest one there, seeming set apart from the rest with it's nice flowers and brick walkway. Piccolo's cape flapped in the wind, then settled behind him as he landed gently on the front porch the way a gymnast lands after doing a routine. Once there, he just stared blankly at the door for a few moments, pondering the millions of chances that he still had to get the heck out of there. _I don't even know what I'm going to say to her…this is stupid._

He turned away from the door just as Yasmine opened it, and music from somewhere inside filtered into the humid outdoor air. "Hi Piccolo! What are you doing here?"

__

No turning back now…don't be a coward. No fear…fear is for the weak! Piccolo steeled his nerves, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed and turned to face Yasmine again. She stood in the doorway like a dark shadow, her long hair a loose and flowing river of ebony down her back. Her dark eyes gazed at him curiously and her dark red lips held a slight smile. Finally finding his voice, Piccolo hesitantly replied, "I came to…talk…"

Yasmine smirked a little, pulled the door further open and stepped aside. "C'mon inside."

Flipping his cape over his shoulder with a sweep of his powerful green and pink arm, Piccolo loped through the doorway and stopped once he was inside, his arms assuming their usual crossed position over his muscular chest. He felt strangely jittery, perhaps even nervous. After all, admitting something about himself wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do.

Yasmine shut the door and leaned on it with her arms crossed, regarding Piccolo's momentarily odd facial expression. "If you're mad at me about the photo album, I understand." She said, pushing off the door and heading towards the living room, flashing a small smile as she passed.

"I'm not angry with you Yasmine." Piccolo said carefully in an unusually soft tone of voice, his hands tightening into fists while imbedded in the crooks of his crossed arms. "I didn't get a chance to say thanks for it." He snorted a little, still not believing that he was doing this, and found that this small talk was all he could do to stall himself from saying what he really wanted to say. "I just…" He sighed and trailed off.  
_I've waited all this time  
counting minutes as they pass  
Searching for a sign  
Wishing for the best  
_Upon hearing the sudden change in his voice, Yasmine turned to look at him. Piccolo was just half-leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and his head down, his face a pensive mask. She could tell by the look on his face that he was in deep thought. "You just what?"  
_And just when my hopes were wearing thin  
You turned my heart to love again_  
Startled out of his thoughts, Piccolo lifted his onyx eyes and looked at her. "Nothing…"

"You're sure acting strange." Yasmine chuckled.

A sweatdrop ran down the side of Piccolo's head briefly as he growled slightly. _How the hell am I supposed to say this?!_ "Don't rub it in OK?"

"Fine…" She walked up to him, and he closed his eyes for a moment as if to avoid looking her in the face. "Whatever it is, you can tell me." She didn't make it known yet that she suspected what he wanted to say, wanting to her him say it on his own.  
_Like a miracle out of the blue  
You rescued me like the angels do  
You shook the Heavens and cracked the sky  
When you walked  
When you walked into my life_  
Piccolo grimaced and clenched his fists tighter as he tried to force the shell around his heart open enough for him to at least look out. The struggle was visible on his face, the pain he had to face and the swirl of emotions that he was trapped in almost hopelessly. Wanting to help, Yasmine reached out and brushed her hand against his cheek, causing him to involuntarily press himself tighter against the wall. His eyes opened and fixed onto hers, as if the touch alone was pulling the shell off like a blanket. Seeing that he was open, she slowly slid her arms around his neck and hugged him, even though he didn't respond right away.  
_When you appeared  
Like sight to the blind  
Like music to my ears  
Like a reason to a rhyme_  
"I came to tell you something…" Piccolo whispered almost against her hair, barely getting the words to leave his lips. "…I don't know how to say it…I…can't…" He sighed irritably.

Understanding now what he wanted to say, having been right in her suspicion, Yasmine pulled her head back and placed her fingertips against his lips. "Shhh…" She could feel him trembling like he was the first time they had hugged, as well as feel his quick, sharp breaths against her face. In fact, Piccolo was almost acting like a person with claustrophobia while they were trapped in a small space. In control of the fear, but still feeling it nonetheless.  
_Like a reason to a rhyme  
And just when I thought my chance was gone  
Love came to me with open arms  
_Piccolo could feel his heart hammering in his ears when their eyes met again, and he could feel himself trembling, afraid without knowing why.  
_Like a miracle out of the blue  
You rescued me like the angels do  
You shook the Heavens and cracked the sky  
When you walked  
When you walked into my life  
_Yasmine gently placed her hands on Piccolo's wrists and slipped his arms around her waist, never breaking the eye-contact while she did so. "I understand what you want to say." She whispered gently, slowly inching her face nearer to his. Piccolo's breathing seemed to quicken further, but he didn't pull his face away from hers this time. Yasmine's lips drew closer to his, and the closer they came, the more tense he became, his eyelids fluttering slightly.  
_You spoke my name  
And the world began again  
_When her lips were about half a centimeter from his, she paused, wanting to hold this moment for as long as possible, and to give him a chance to pull away if he wanted to. Piccolo didn't move, and closed his eyes instead as Yasmine slowly closed the last bit of space between their lips. A jolt of electricity ran down the Namekian's spine as she kissed him, and he was stunned stiff for a few moments by the intense swirl of emotions that exploded within him with such force that it left no reason to doubt about his feelings.   
_You touched my heart  
And it opened  
_With the gentleness he had only shown his son, Piccolo leaned into Yasmine's kiss, returning it as his hands moved up and came to rest on her shoulderblades to hold her there. Her lips were so soft, softer then he ever imagined anything could be, and for a moment she was the only thing that existed in the universe to him.  
_Like a miracle out of the blue  
You rescued me like the angels do  
You shook the Heavens and cracked the sky  
When you walked  
When you walked into my life  
_Yasmine put her hands on the back of his neck, wishing she could cry from the happiness she was feeling. Piccolo was totally out of that shell around his heart, and just like a butterfly, he was beautiful. The crying child in his heart was being comforted, and she could feel that when he slowly relaxed and broke the kiss to look down into her eyes, a little breathless.  
_You shook the Heavens and cracked the sky  
When you walked  
When you walked into my life…_  
Smiling up at him with tears in her eyes, Yasmine swayed gently with her arms still around Piccolo's neck. He swayed with her, totally lost within her, almost in a trance. "Guess what?" She whispered.

"What?" He whispered back, more like a sigh, as if speaking would shatter whatever was between them.

"You're dancing." Yasmine smiled, still swaying gently with him.

At that point, Piccolo didn't care. Yasmine had understood him, and that was all that seemed to matter at the moment. His only response to her comment was a faint smile as he continued swaying gently with her.  
  
_To be continued… _


	12. Silent One: Chapter 12

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long ^_^() My dad had five days off of work and he hogged the comp for all five of those days, and I was really busy. I may not get to post as often, but I will post until the story is finished. By the way, I did imply something in here(I won't say what), and it will leave a lot to your imagination as to how it happened. So don't flame me over it. ;)

Silent One  
Chapter 12

A green finger with a pointed white nail slowly depressed a rubber button with an upwards-pointing arrow painted on it's surface. The television screen scrambled, then changed to show various images. A man and woman standing on the very front of a gigantic boat with the man holding the woman's arms out to the side was one of the images. The next image was of some baboon standing on the edge of a cliff and holding up a lion cub. Another image was of some really dorky looking purple dinosaur yapping it's messed up looking mouth. A tipped-up green nose wrinkled at that image as the finger pushed the button again. Funny images of a brown coyote falling off a cliff while chasing a strange blue and purple bird came up.

Tategoto stopped on that channel and watched the crazy action. He couldn't hear any of the sounds, but since a Wile E. Coyote cartoon rarely had any dialogue, it really didn't matter. Pretty soon, Tategoto was laughing his head off and pointing at the screen. Bulma watched the little Namek amuse himself, grinned and went into the kitchen to get him a glass of water.

"Darn. All out of bottled water…" Bulma sighed in annoyance and twirled a strand of her sea-blue hair between her fingers. She glanced up just in time to see hair that looked like a motionless black flame pass the window. Seconds later, the door banged shut, and she said, "Hey Vegeta?"

"What is it woman?" Vegeta replied, covered in more then one layer of sweat from such a hard workout. His thick eyebrows drew together as he assumed his usual scowl.

"I need to go to the store and get some bottled water. Could you keep an eye on Tategoto while I'm gone?" She turned to him, batted her long eyelashes and smiled her sweetest smile. He grimaced. She batted her eyelashes more.

"I'm no baby-sitter!" He shouted, ripping the towel off from around his neck and throwing it down. Because he had no shirt on, his powerful upper body was fully visible. Strong, powerful arms, a sculpted abdomen and seemingly flawless pectorals glistened with the sweat that gave him a sparkling sheen as he stood in the doorway.

"Oh please, Vegeta? Just for a few minutes?" Bulma's voice took on a begging tone, and Vegeta's hair seemed to stand up even more as he got more annoyed.

"Fine! Just get the hell out of my face!" He snarled, picking up the towel and mopping the sweat off his face.

"Thanks!" She bent her head and brushed her lips against his cheek, then slung her purse over her shoulder and headed out. Vegeta glanced back and watched her rear end moving around under the tight dress she was wearing, a smirk pulling at his lips. Then he looked into the living room to check on Tategoto and saw that he was still in front of the TV set.

__

Well, as long as he stays like that, he's fine! Vegeta thought as he huffed and went to go take a thirty-second shower.

Thirty seconds was all it took for Tategoto to get bored with the TV, get up and go outside. He spotted the gravity room, dashed over and went inside. His little brown slipper-like shoes made no sound on the smooth red floor as he walked over to marvel at the spectacular gravity machine. When Vegeta came out of the shower and went into the kitchen, the TV was still on, so he didn't notice right away that the little Namek was gone.

The wild-haired Saiyan walked into the living room with a sandwich. He stopped dead and fell over when he saw the spot in front of the TV was empty. Picking himself up while putting the plate down and practically inhaling the sandwich, Vegeta ran a stream of mental curses through his head that would scare his own father. Then he proceeded to look behind the couch, in the hall closet and all the rooms in the house. When he couldn't find Tategoto, he started muttering curses under his breath and went outside, looking both ways as if he were going to cross a street. His hands balled up into fists as his frustration level started to rise further.

"Hey kid! Where the hell are you!?" Vegeta yelled, then slapped his forehead when he realized that the child couldn't hear him yelling. "Dammit! OK…think…where could that kid get to?"

Inside the gravity room, Tategoto was standing on his tip-toes to look at the smooth, shiny buttons on the gravity machine, being just barely tall enough to see the top of the panel. Being a kid full of curiosity, he reached up and pressed a button. The gravity level went up to two, but it didn't do anything because the machine was turned off. Giggling quietly, Tategoto pressed the button several times, watching the number go up until it passed one-hundred and finally stopped on two-hundred.

Outside, Vegeta was about ready to blow a gasket. The blood vessel on his forehead stood out so far that it seemed like it was going to explode, and if he could frown any more then he already was, his eyebrows would be touching the tip of his nose. A giggle from somewhere got his attention, and he turned just in time to notice the door to the gravity room was open.

"Oh shit!" He hissed, dashing for the open door in a blur of motion. "If that kid turns on the gravity, he'll crush himself!"

Tategoto's finger lingered over the activation button, the blinking light it gave off having gotten his attention. His finger was lowering, and his pointed white nail was just a millimeter from the button's surface when a hand grabbed his wrist. Tategoto gasped in surprise and whipped his head around to see a very angry Vegeta glaring down at him with feral looking eyes.

"ARE YOU INSANE!!!!!!!?" Vegeta yelled at the top of his lungs, as if yelling loud enough would breach the deaf boy's eternal world of silence. As he yelled, he dragged the child out of the room.

Tategoto yanked his arm out of Vegeta's grasp, watching him yell and feeling the vibration of his voice. He soon discovered that he could read Vegeta's lips, able to know words because most people spoke as they signed to him. It would be awhile before he would figure out how to speak, however, if he ever learned at all.

Sighing angrily, Vegeta picked up a rock and made sure Tategoto could see it. He tossed it into the gravity room and turned on the gravity so Tategoto could watch the rock crumble until it had been crushed into dust. "See that?" The Saiyan pointed to the mess that was once a rock, "That would have been you, kid." He pointed at the young Namek, hoping that he would understand.

When he saw what happened to the rock, Tategoto bit his lip and stepped back from the gravity room, which caused Vegeta to laugh. _How can that man go in there if the room can crush things? Why didn't it crush me?_ Experimentally, Tategoto picked up a rock and threw it through the open door. The rock was immediately slammed into the ground and exploded into dust! He could see Vegeta was laughing, and watched him touch a red button identical to the one on the machine inside. The little Namek threw another rock into the room and watched it bounce and skip until it slammed against the far wall. _Oh! I see! It turns on and off just like the TV!_

"Got it now?" Vegeta growled.

Tategoto lost interest in the gravity room, his cape rustling slightly in the breeze as he looked up at Vegeta. He took on one of the many fighting stances that his father had taught him, doing a 'bring it on' gesture with his hands. Vegeta smirked, pointing to himself and Tategoto.

"Kid, I'd tear you apart." He muttered when the child nodded.

Taking on a fighting stance, Vegeta watched Tategoto's every move, waiting to see what he'd do. When he didn't move, Vegeta sneered, rushed forward with his fist pulled back for an uppercut. His fist only impacted the open air, and only after receiving a kick to the back of the skull, did Vegeta realize that he'd just hit an after image. _Damn kid is fast!_ He turned to face Tategoto again and continue the spar.

Onyx eyes slowly dragged themselves open, then snapped shut again as a sliver of sunlight shined into them. The eyelids slowly lifted again and squinted. Rustling sounds punctuated the silence as bedsheets were disturbed. Two green feet with long toes and pointed toenails gently came to rest on the floor. The feet padded slowly past two piles of clothes before stopping near the source of the sunlight.

Piccolo slowly drew the curtain aside and the golden sunlight illuminated the curve of his face. He turned his head slightly and looked over at Yasmine's dark shape, curled among the wrinkled sheets. She was still asleep, smiling slightly with contentment. The tall Namekian turned back to the window and licked his lips. _Why did I do what I just did a while ago? Why have I never felt this way before? Am I just going soft? Heh, maybe I am…but I will not let myself become weak. I will not depend on her…_

"Mmm…how long were you awake?" Yasmine murmured without opening her eyes right away.

"Not long." Piccolo replied, half turning to look at her as he assumed his usual arms-crossed stance. The only difference was this time he was still totally nude, and he really had a body that seemed too perfect beyond words. There was no fat or flab anywhere, just a lot of hard, curving and rippling muscles. 

__

Sexy is too simple a word for him. Yasmine thought in amusement as she stood up and walked to his side, her long hair falling over her shoulders like a cloak. "What are you thinking?"

Piccolo shook his head halfway as he reached down and started putting his clothes back on, "Just trying to make sense of my emotions." His eyes narrowed momentarily at all the sentimentality, a crease forming on his brow. "Being sentimental is not my thing."

"You don't have to be sentimental," said Yasmine as she brushed some of her hair back and started to climb into her clothes as well. "Just knowing you have the feeling is all that matters. Everybody has their own way of showing it."

Liquid white fluttered around momentarily as Piccolo lifted his heavy shoulderpads and swung them around before slipping his head through the collar. His cape settled behind him and he smirked as he watched Yasmine struggle to lift his turban and hand it to him. He easily plucked it from her trembling grasp, brushed his antennae back and settled it onto his head with a smirk. "Heh. Whatever."

"Hey kid, you're pretty good." Vegeta commented in amusement as Tategoto's punches slammed into the palm of his hand. He moved his hand slowly and the child's punches never changed speed as they adjusted to the changing height, and pretty soon, the Saiyan's hand was getting sore. He pulled his hand away and held up the other one. "Try kicks." He said, throwing a weak kick into the empty air to show what he meant.

"Aieehah!" Tategoto cried, a sound he always made when a move was a tad difficult to do, as he threw a roundhouse into Vegeta's hand. His white cape billowed around him as the kick shoved Vegeta's hand way out to the side.

"You're making my hand sting." Vegeta smirked, actually finding this kind of fun as Tategoto performed several front kicks against his hand. He could see the flame behind Tategoto's eyes, the warrior's spirit that his father had. _Kid, your father must be proud,_ the wild-haired Saiyan thought silently. He looked down just in time to see the young Namek hold up his hand and point to it. Vegeta punched his own hand, and Tategoto nodded in understanding. "OK, kid. Your funeral."

Again, Tategoto held up his small hand, which was smaller then Vegeta's fist, and held his ground as the first punch slammed into his palm. Vegeta's wild hair looked like it got even more crazy as he started to let loose, becoming more and more surprised by the young Namek's strength. Tategoto was standing up to his punches like they were nothing, and the sound of skin slapping skin continued for a long time. Then the young boy's palm was finally too sore, and he lowered it.

****

You kick hard. Tategoto signed.

"_Nani?_" Vegeta said aloud, only succeeding in getting Tategoto to laugh at him for not understanding. Then young Namek stuck his tongue out briefly, then composed himself and crossed his arms as the Saiyan added on, "What's so funny?"

Tategoto shook his head, got down on the ground in the push-up position and looked at Vegeta. _Let's rock._ He thought silently as his opponent settled down next to him and gave him that typical scowl. The young Namek started to piston himself up and down as he started his push-ups, and Vegeta went right along at the same speed.

Ten minutes later, Bulma came back and found the two still having their push-up contest. She chuckled quietly and leaned on the doorframe, just watching them as the wind blew a few strands of her blue hair across her face. Tategoto was still going the same speed he'd started, and Vegeta was moving right along with him. Their moves looked synchronized, and one could almost count the seconds by watching the rise and fall of their backs. Nearly an hour after starting their push-ups, both Tategoto and Vegeta flopped onto their backs, tired and breathing hard. They looked at each other, all sweaty, and started to laugh at the fact that the contest ended in a draw.

"You surprised me, kid." Vegeta snorted after his brief laughter had passed.

Tategoto just threw his hands up and signed, **Father trains me hard every day.**

Vegeta sat up slowly as a few blades of grass fell out of his wild hair. He leaned back, brought his knees close to his body and kicked his legs up, throwing himself back onto his feet. Tategoto performed the same move, and his cape settled behind him as he crossed his arms, shifted his weight to one leg and looked at Vegeta with a smirk showing across his young face.

"Ha!" The Saiyan laughed, "What are you? A Namek version of Mini-Me? You're so much like your father that it's almost frightening."

Picking up the last part of what Vegeta said by managing to read his lips, Tategoto signed, **Thank you.**

Vegeta reached over and pulled Tategoto's turban down over his eyes, then crossed his arms and laughed as the boy pushed the turban back up, laughing as well. Just then, Bulma came outside with a glass of water for both of them, seeing as they were both all sweaty and tired. 

"Well, Vegeta, I see you had a good time. Maybe I should leave you alone with Tategoto more often, if Piccolo brings him by anymore after this."

The usual scowl returned to Vegeta's face. "Whatever, woman." He snatched the glass of water from her hand and chugged it down as he walked over to Tategoto and tapped his shoulder. Tategoto looked at him with half the glass covering his face since he was drinking, but he quickly finished and wiped his upper lip. "Good work," commented the wild-haired Saiyan, holding his hand out. The young Namek got the idea, the two slapped hands and promptly winced in pain afterwards. Their palms were still sore from the punches and kicks earlier.

Tategoto spotted another shadow on the ground, grinned and turned to see Piccolo coming in for a graceful landing, his white cape flapping in the wind behind him. **Hello Father!**

Hello, was Piccolo's brief reply as he crossed his arms while looking at Vegeta and Bulma. "So I guess you could handle him after all. Heh." He smirked as his miniature twin came up beside him and assumed the same arms-crossed posture.

"The kid's a bad-ass." Vegeta snickered, "No, really. He is."

"I can see where he gets it from." Bulma muttered under her breath, then plugged her nose. "Vegeta. Shower. Now! You smell like an old gym sock!"

Vegeta snorted and went back inside, but not before turning back and flashing a quick thumbs-up to Tategoto. Tategoto grinned and flashed one back, then grasped his father's hand to be carried back out into the valley.

  
_To be continued… _


	13. Silent One: Chapter 13

Silent One  
Chapter 13

The golden sun rose over the valley, stretching it's arms of warmth to embrace everything it could reach. The first thing the light touched was a tall cliff where two emerald figures with white capes were standing. It was a chilly morning, so the sun felt wonderful on their skin as they stood there and prepared for the day's training.

****

Did you tell Yasmine? Tategoto signed, his eyes squinting slowly because of the brightness of the sun, which illuminated half of his young face. Piccolo nodded in response, then turned his face into the warmth of the sun and closed his eyes as the wind played about his white cape. The younger Namek smiled and tugged his father's gi pants to get his attention, then signed, **Good. Why are we way up here anyway?**

You're going to learn how to fly. Piccolo signed back, biting his lip to hide a smile at the excited expression his answer evoked. Trouble was, whenever Piccolo smiled, even a hidden one, it always reached his eyes and made them light up. So he really couldn't hide it completely.

Practically jumping into his father's face, the younger Namek signed, **I've been waiting to learn this for a long time!**

Smirking, Piccolo dodged Tategoto's excited leap and tapped his shoulder to get his full attention. Then he went through a long and detailed explanation on how flying worked. Tategoto made sure to pay full attention, his dark eyes not missing a single gesture that his father made as he signed. After the explanation, Piccolo signed, **Now, try it. Just push your ki through your feet like this.** The tall Namekian slowly rose about three inches off the ground and floated there with his arms crossed.

Tategoto looked down at his feet and wiggled his toes a little inside his shoes. He pressed his lips tight together in concentration as a slight down-draft started to stir up the dust around his feet, and all of a sudden he felt much lighter then he ever had in his life. Before he even realized it, Tategoto's feet were no longer touching the ground, and he let out an excited shriek as he kicked his feet at the open air while hovering six inches off the ground. **I'm doing it! Look at me!**

Piccolo smirked again. "Heh, that kid learns fast." **Good. Now can you stay up in the air?**

I'm staying up now aren't I? Tategoto signed back, emitting a confused grunt from his throat.

Rolling his eyes, Piccolo said, **If you think you're so big and bad…** he stopped signing and shoved Tategoto off the side of the cliff. The fall wouldn't kill him, but it would sure give a good scare. Of course, the scare was the intention of the shove.

"AAIEEE!" The little Namekian shrieked as he was shoved and started to plummet towards the dusty ground below. His heart pounded wildly as adrenaline was pumped through his system. _Push down, push down….push….push!_ "Oof!" Tategoto's descent abruptly came to a halt as he caught himself and opened his eyes to see the ground only three feet away. _Ha! Father didn't get me this time!_ He flashed a crooked grin, righted himself and held one fist straight up as he rocketed back up the side of the cliff with the wind rushing around him. Piccolo stepped back and smirked as he watched Tategoto rocket past him and stop about ten feet above, his small shape blocking out the sun.

****

Look at me! I'm Superman! Tategoto laughed wildly and held his arms out in front of him with his fists clenched as he flew in a short circle. Piccolo couldn't help but snort in amusement as he flipped his white cape over his shoulder and wiped the sweat from his brow ridges. 

__

Superman eh? So far, you've shown me that you're even stronger then that guy... The older Namek thought as watched the younger one. **Now try a landing.**

OK. Here I come! Tategoto lowered, his cape flying around behind him as he sailed down towards where Piccolo was. It turned out that landing was a lot harder then it looked, because distance was hard to judge when going at such insane speeds. The young Namek tripped when he landed, and his turban came off as he somersaulted three times and found himself tangled in his cape while upside-down against a boulder.

__

…although I don't think you can quite land like him yet. Piccolo mused at the last moment when he watched Tategoto's "graceful" landing. Even still, he was very proud of the boy for doing so well for his first flight. "Heh. Crazy kid."

Tategoto watched as two feet appeared next to his head, and followed the long legs to the powerful torso and crossed arms until he could see his father's amused expression. Pressing his lips together with determination, the young Namek signed, **I'll get it right next time. I want to try again.**

Nodding, Piccolo signed back, **Try all you want, kid.**

Tategoto did a handstand, then bent his legs forward and allowed his feet to touch down. He picked up his turban and dusted it off, then wiped his antennae back the same way he had seen his father do as he put the turban back on. Piccolo just watched, pleased and amused as his own flesh and blood dove off the edge of the cliff and shot back up towards the sky. He slowly crossed his arms as the wind played about his cape, perspiration glistening all over his body where the skin was exposed as he watched the boy fly.

"Damn it." Piccolo muttered, "Sometimes I can't believe myself." With that last comment, he lifted off and flew towards Tategoto, shooting past him so fast that it sent the boy into a brief spin.

"Ack!" Tategoto did a flip in mid air as his father shot past, and he turned to see him waiting for him about thirty feet away with his arms crossed as casually as if he were standing on the ground.

Down below, a black hovercar was pulling up and a dark shape stepped out. Neither of the Nameks saw this because they were too focused on each other. Well, Tategoto was too focused anyway. Piccolo was just watching him in amusement as he flew closer and tried to catch him. 

Piccolo let Tategoto get about an inch from catching him, then dodged him, watching his determined expression as he made another attempt. He ducked it, smirked and dodged left, then right and straight up, tossing out comments like, "Too slow. Try again. Faster! C'mon." Little did he know that Tategoto was reading his lips and able to figure out most of the things he was saying.

Yasmine just laughed as she watched and got out her camera to take some pictures. Piccolo had mentioned that he liked the pictures she had given him before, and figured that more wouldn't hurt. After all, memories are priceless, especially ones that come with growing up.

Piccolo was flying to the left as he dodged another one of Tategoto's grab attempts. Tategoto tried to grab his cape as it billowed up like a bird's wings, but he flew lower, pulling around behind a tall, thin cliff. He could sense the Tategoto's approach, and moved around to the other side of the rock until he came out behind him. The boy didn't see his father behind him, nor did he realize that he was being "followed" as he flew in a circle around the entire cliff.

Flying closer, Piccolo caught Tategoto in the back with a weak jab that scared the little guy out of his skin and caused him to flip over. By the time Tategoto had turned to see who did it, Piccolo was already flying away in another direction with a contrail behind him, and he quickly frowned in determination as he took off after him.

Piccolo's clothes rippled in the wind as he looked back to see how close Tategoto was in relation to him. Tategoto was about three feet behind his father, and closing in fast. _Damn kid learns fast!_ He thought, finally glimpsing Yasmine out of the corner of his eye as he flew past her car. She waved briefly, he didn't have time to respond. Tucking up his legs to dodge Tategoto's grab, Piccolo pulled a graceful loop that brought him around behind his pursuer. Tategoto started to get a little smarter, seeing as the direct approach wasn't going to work. He frowned, grinning at the same time like his father often did when he was planning something mean. Doubling his speed, Tategoto suddenly dove down and looped straight up, then came down right on top of his father.

"Whoa!" Piccolo barely dodged by stopping on a dime as Tategoto shot past him towards the ground. The little Namek came right back up, missing the next grab.

****

Why aren't you trying to catch me? Tategoto signed as he paused a moment to rest, hovering about ten feet above Piccolo.

****

It would be too easy. Piccolo signed back, smirking.

****

Yeah right! Try it! Tategoto retorted as he flew away with his cape flapping in the wind behind him.

"You asked for it." Piccolo muttered, shoving his arm out to the side to flip his cape over his shoulder. He powered his ki, balled his fists and shot off after the green shape in the distance. He flew past Yasmine, who was laughing, so fast that her hair billowed out behind her briefly.

Tategoto looked back just in time to see his father blur out of sight. One second later, a pair of strong arms grabbed onto him and the green hands attached to them quickly signed, **I told you so.** "Gotcha!" Piccolo grunted as he signed the other comment to Tategoto.

Tategoto windmilled his arms to throw Piccolo's arms off, then turned around, wrapping his legs around his waist and his arms around his neck. His hands were occupied, so he couldn't sign, but he had that 'now I got you' look on his face. Piccolo just smirked, feeling the boy's wild heartbeat against his chest. He didn't, however, expect what Tategoto attempted next upon landing.

"Aw ga too." Tategoto said, speaking something that sounded like gibberish as he made an attempt to speak with his mouth for the first time in his life.

Yasmine heard it as well, grinning as she strode over to meet them. She had understood what he'd tried to say. After all, she had spent most of her life training people to speak to the deaf as well as help teach deaf people. Some of them did learn to speak, even though they would always sound strange when they spoke.

"Did you hear that?" Piccolo commented in total shock. "I think he just said 'I got you.'"

"He did." Yasmine said back with a grin. "He's figured out that not everyone uses their hands to talk."

****

Yeah, kid, you got me. Piccolo signed quickly to Tategoto, still smirking as he crossed his arms and looked over at Yasmine, tilting his head. "He can learn to speak? Even if he can't hear?"

She nodded, wiping her hair back with a sweep of her brown hand. Having recently gotten a manicure, her nails were painted bright red and looked like jewels on the ends of her fingers. "Some can, some can't. From what I've seen though, I think that little guy can do anything."

Piccolo dodged one of Tategoto's attempts to tackle him and said with an amused tone as he crossed his arms, "You got that right. He's already figured out how to fly, and I only had to explain it to him once. Heh." He looked down and grinned in spite of himself, and Yasmine raised her camera. One click was all it took to freeze that grin in time.

"So it seems that I'm not the only one who has a son…" A figure rasped as he watched from deep in the shadows, which hid his features.

"What do you see, dad?" Asked a second, smaller voice.

"Piccolo has spawned. Hah. He won't get in the way when I conquer the world! HA, HA, HA!" The first figure broke into insane laughter as he grasped the shoulder of the younger one and yanked him back into the shadows. "Careful of where you stand. You might be spotted and then our plans will be ruined."

"Sorry." The younger form replied as he was yanked and lost his footing. A red jewel attached to some part of his body glistened in the light.

"Come on. Let's have a little fun with that wrinkled wretch they call Kami." The older figure snickered. The younger one snickered as well, and followed the older one into the darkness.

Sparkling sheen rained down onto the brightly colored petals, dribbled down the leafy stem and soaked into the soil. Soft humming filled the air as a jet-black figure with white button-like eyes, a clown-like red mouth and a slightly Jamaican sounding accent darted about.

"It seems that summer is setting in." Mr. Popo said brightly as he watered the brightly-colored flowers.

"Yes, indeed." Kami replied, reaching his wrinkled old hand out to touch one of the blossoms. A butterfly with bright blue and yellow wings drifted past his fingertips to land on the flower he was touching. The delicate insect crawled forward and onto the end of the green finger that was touching the flower. Kami just chuckled quietly as he brought his hand closer to his face so he could see the butterfly better. "It seems so peaceful."

"Agreed." Mr. Popo smiled and started lumbering towards the door to water the plants that were set up inside. A few seconds later, he was sent flying back out like he'd been shot from a cannon, and the watering pail clattered to a stop next to him with water spilling out the top.

Kami's blue cape rustled as he whirled to face the door where Popo had just been thrown from. There were two figures standing there, but hidden by shadow so their features couldn't be seen.

"Hello, Kami." The older one said with a snicker. "We meet again at last." He slowly stepped out of the shadows, and the younger one stayed close behind. The two figures were wearing cloaks and hoods that covered everything except for their faces. But the older one's short stature was more then enough to give away his identity.

"Garlic Jr.…" the old Namekian sneered as he clutched his wooden stick tighter. Then he noticed second figure, and a frown added another crease to his already wrinkled brow.

"Oh yes." Garlic grinned, reaching a pale blue-green hand up to push his hood off as he grabbed onto the other figure's shoulder. The second figure was only about an inch shorter then Garlic. He pulled his hood off to reveal a skin tone paler then his father's with less green patches on his face and head. His beady black eyes were narrowed and seemingly fixed on something more interesting then Kami. There was a glittering, blood red jewel on his forehead, and his features held the smoothness of youth. "Say hello," Garlic said to the younger figure.

"Hello." The younger figure said coldly, then flashed a chilling grin that bore his fangs.

"Meet _my_ son. Onion."

  
_To be continued… _


	14. Silent One: Chapter 14

Author's note: Wondering why I named Garlic Jr.'s kid Onion? Here's the answer. Garlic is a strong smelling food, is it not? So are onions(Hey, I like name puns and themes. Like the "cold" theme with Freeza's family and the vegetable or food themes for Saiyan names.) ^_^

Silent One  
Chapter 14

"Only you would use a child for your evil purposes! And only you would give him a name as foul as your own." Kami spat angrily at the two small demons that had invaded his home. He clutched his wooden stick tightly in one hand and had taken on a defensive stance, ready for anything Garlic or Onion might do. Looking Onion over, he could guess the child was probably about ten years old, or at least the human equivalent to that age. Definitely older then Tategoto.

Popo groaned in the background as Garlic started to laugh his chilling cackle and flashed his small fangs. "Did you hear that, Onion? He called your name foul."

"I heard him." Onion crossed his arms and chuckled, his own fangs showing as he grinned coldly, a grin that held a ton of malice and bloodlust. "Can we kill him?"

"Not quite yet, Onion. We're going to kidnap him." Garlic ran his small tongue over his fangs and smacked his lips together as if the sound of his plan was a delightful food, "Then we'll find the Dragon Balls and wish for you to have eternal life like I have. And then we'll RULE THIS AND EVERY OTHER WORLD! MWA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

"You're an idiot if you think I'll go quietly!" Kami interrupted them as he slid forward, catching Garlic in the side of the face with a karate chop. Garlic flew backwards into the wall, and Onion sprang into action. The jewel on his forehead flickered slightly as he spun around, kicked Kami in the gut and flung him to the ground, the feat looking amazing because of their height differences.

"Stay down you old windbag! If you know what's good for you!" Onion sneered, putting his foot down on Kami's throat. The jewel flickered again and he turned his face down towards Kami's, and that's when Kami noticed something strange, and wondered if it was his imagination.

He didn't get a chance to complete his silent thoughts as he groaned, clutching his shoulder as a grimace pulled at his wrinkled lips. It was a fake out, however, because as soon as Onion let go, he used his stick to trip him and throw him face-first into the wall next to Garlic.

"You'll pay for that you old bastard!" Onion retorted as soon as he got up, licking the blood off his lips. "Father? Let's do it." He turned his head to Garlic as he got up, and Garlic snickered softly. "Cover your ears, father. Just in case you're not immune to this like I am." The young demon smirked, speaking low so Kami wouldn't hear it. Garlic did so, grinning as he watched Onion stand up once again.

Kami was just getting to his feet when he saw Onion was already up. He watched the jewel on his forehead start to emit a steady glow. Then it started to give off a maddening, high-pitched noise that was agony to the ears. Kami dropped his wooden stick and yelled in pain, grabbing his ears as the noise made his head feel like it was about to explode. The agony drove him to his knees as his vision started to waver, and finally his consciousness went dark. Onion grinned triumphantly and stood over Kami with his foot on his head as if to hold him down.

Unseen by everyone but Kami, Mr. Popo got up and snuck over to his magic carpet. He left the area in swift silence to warn Piccolo and the others of the danger that was present.

"So you're flying now, eh kid?" Vegeta snorted as Tategoto zipped past him in the de-activated gravity room. "Figures."

****

I bet I could catch you. Tategoto signed as he passed Vegeta for the tenth time. He knew that Vegeta was starting to understand some of the sign language by now, since Yasmine had tricked him into learning a little before he figured out what she was up to.

"Yeah right!" The short, wild-haired Saiyan burst into a round of his hyena-like laughter, making sure the boy could see him. Unfortunately, that wasn't to be. "You keep dreaming kid! Keep dreaming. Hahahah-OOF!" He was interrupted when Tategoto caught him from behind in a football-like tackle that drove him to the floor. Immediately after the tackle, Tategoto took off out the door with only a white contrail as a sign that he was ever there at all. Vegeta snarled, "You asked for it!" He rose and flew after the young Namek as the wind blew his wild hair back slightly.

Tategoto glanced back to see where Vegeta was, and realized a little too late that the Saiyan had phased in front of him. Only this time, having learned from his father, he quickly dodged around him and stuck out his tongue. **Come and get me!** He signed, making a 'bring it on' gesture with his hands.

Vegeta moved to grab Tategoto, but Tategoto backflipped in mid air and took off in the opposite direction. Grinning at the challenge, Vegeta tore off after him, catching up quickly. He phased out and reappeared just above the boy, already in a straight dive. Tategoto shrieked in surprise as Vegeta's momentum carried them straight down into the puddle of mud that surrounded one of the trees by the gravity room. 

SPLAAAAAAAT!

Tategoto sat up with a coat of mud covering all down the front of him, making his skin look more brown then green as the wet soil started to soak into his clothes. Vegeta sat up a moment later; his face looked like someone had gone crazy while applying a cosmetic mask, and the brown mud was all in his hair and down the front of his clothes. Tategoto started laughing his head off, and Vegeta just snarled and grumbled under his breath about how humiliating this was.

Picking up a piece of mud, Vegeta chucked it at Tategoto and said, "Shut up kid! This isn't funny!"

The mud hit Tategoto square in the face, and for a moment, the young Namek made a "deer-staring-at-headlights" expression. Then he wrinkled his nose, picked up a handful of mud and lopped it at Vegeta. The mud caught Vegeta in the side of the face, and he snarled as he reached over and shoved Tategoto's face into the mud as revenge. The Saiyan prince snickered as he climbed out of the mud puddle altogether.

Tategoto climbed out a moment later, looking more like Swamp Thing then a Namek.

"That woman is going to kill us." Vegeta muttered about Bulma as he spotted the hose. "Or maybe not…" He smirked as he walked to the hose, turned on the water and watched the sparkling water spray out the nozzle. He started spraying the mud off of Tategoto, ignoring the loud grunts of protest. Once that was done, Vegeta hosed himself off, then turned the water off and tossed the hose aside.

One thing he did forget to hose off was his and Tategoto's feet. Two sets of muddy footprints led in from the kitchen to the living room where the young Namek and the Saiyan were arm-wrestling. When Bulma came home a few minutes later and saw the mess, she freaked out and screamed. "VEGETA!!!!!!!"

"Oh shit!" Vegeta snarled when he heard the scream, which caused him to lose his concentration and the arm-wresting match with Tategoto. He got up and went into the kitchen, scowling, "What is your problem woman!?"

"Look at this mess! It'll take me hours to clean it all up! The carpet! AAUGH! Take your shoes off right now! Get Tategoto's shoes while you're at it! Grr!" Bulma wiped her hair back and threw her purse down on the kitchen table. "Wait…I know how to make you two pay for this…" She said in a strange tone. "I love revenge…"

Five minutes later, a barefoot Tategoto and Vegeta were stuck scrubbing the muddy footprints off the tiles of the kitchen floor. Vegeta was grumbling that a prince shouldn't be doing slave work, and Tategoto just sat there looking forlorn as he scrubbed away. "This is all your fault…" Vegeta was grumbling, pointing at Tategoto. "You started the whole thing!"

Tategoto's eyeridges went up like 'yeah right' as he watched Vegeta's lips move. Vegeta finally got up and went into the gravity room, seeing that five minutes of humiliation was all he could take. Tategoto followed, thumbing his nose at the house as he went to go spar with Vegeta.

"You've got to be kidding!" Piccolo was commenting with wide eyes and a sweatdrop running down the side of his head as Yasmine laughed. "I do NOT take baths with bubbles in them!" He snarled.

"Well at least a shower then. Sorry to say this…buddy…but oftentimes, people don't smell themselves." Yasmine covered her face with a brown hand as she giggled softly. "Besides, after getting all sweaty like you do, you should at least clean off." She watched Piccolo's expression get even more adamant and angry. "If you're all afraid of me seeing you naked, just remember that I did a few days ago when we…when I found out that you actually did have a…" She blushed and trailed off.

The last comment seemed to have a mixed effect on Piccolo. He was delighted and angry upon remembering what had happened. _A moment of weakness, perhaps…just a moment…_ "That was different." He said quickly, suddenly looking away.

Yasmine scooted closer to where Piccolo was standing, watching as he tensed when she came closer. "You always act so nervous when I come close to you like this. Why?"

The tall Namekian inhaled quickly and replied, "I told you. Being sentimental isn't my thing."

"Intimacy and sentimentality can be two different things at some times." Yasmine said gently as she took his hand and gently traced a vein from his middle knuckle to his wrist. "I'll give you a choice then, and you decide. Take a shower while I wait here or…" She paused a moment and blushed, "Or I can take one with you." After speaking, she watched Piccolo's expression to see if it would offer any clues to his decision, but the Namekian's expression remained stoic. She changed the subject, seeing as she was only making him angrier by talking about taking showers. "Everybody has their own little soft spots. You're one of mine."

"There is only one that I won't refuse to mention." Piccolo stated tersely as he struggled with his thoughts, feeling at a total loss of what to say or do.

"Tategoto. That's obvious…" She smiled gently.

The Namekian answered her with a barely detectable nod, a frown drawing his brow ridges together. Though he was silent, the love that he had for the boy was just as apparent as it would have been if he had shouted it through a megaphone. He felt Yasmine's arms wrap gently around his neck, and once again, he seemed to peek out of the shell around his heart. His eyelids drifted shut and he slowly sighed as he asked, "Yasmine…how…why would you even want to have any remote feelings for someone like me. If you knew what I've done -"

"What's done is done and it's in the past." Yasmine interrupted softly, "What you used to do doesn't matter to me. What you do now does. And I know that you have a lot of things hidden inside of this…" She wrapped her long chocolate-brown fingers around his red-ringed wrist, elevated his hand and placed it over his rapidly pounding heart. "That's why I love you. Because I know that underneath all that rage and pain, the part of yourself that you lost a long time ago is still alive."

Piccolo was shocked into silence by her answer. Part of him was getting angry at her for punching past his defenses again, and the other part was almost relieved that she had been able to find her way back in. He resisted the urge to hug her back, and resigned himself to moving his hand around to grasp hers, holding it tightly against his chest as he opened his eyes and looked into hers.

Wrinkled green brow ridges trembled as a pair of dark eyes slide open slowly. Cloth rustled as clothing was disturbed by movement, and an old green form slowly moved into a sitting position with a quiet moan. A trembling hand reached up to touch an age-worn forehead, right between a pair of wrinkled antennae.

"Unh…" Kami moaned as his vision cleared, his ears still ringing from the noise that Onion's gem had made. He slowly looked around to find himself surrounded by what looked like a cage of pure golden light. Just across the room, there was a control panel that was briefly illuminated by a single blinking red light. It looked so out of place because the rest of the room seemed like the inside of a cave. "Where am I?"

"I see you're awake, old fool." Onion tittered with a grin as he stood in a shadowed spot near where Kami was trapped. There was a faint light just below him, and only his pale greenish-blue face was visible. The way the shadows fell over it made him seem more eerie and demonic, especially since that red jewel in his forehead glinted like an evil third eye. "I trust you slept well? Hah!"

"You will not get away with this!" Kami got to his feet angrily and grabbed onto two of the glowing gold bars. As soon as he touched them, they brightened, sending a shockwave of pain through his nerves. The old Namekian was thrown back by the surge of power, and landed back in the center of his prison as smoke rose from the burns on his hands. Rubbing his sore palms together, he sneered, "I suppose a brat like you feels quite at home in this darkness."

"So, you noticed that I am blind. Hah! That doesn't make me any less potent!" Onion snickered as he scratched the corner of his small mouth with his index finger. "Oh, and I think I should warn you of something, you wrinkled green freak. Those bars are made of pure energy. A technology I've developed that I call 'negative ki'. So don't try to power up or you'll be incinerated, because it counters any ki with an equal amount of 'negative ki'. The results are…explosive..." He started to laugh wildly as Garlic entered the room with something in his hands. "So have a nice day, old man."

Garlic snickered at Onion's last comment. "I see the wretch is awake. Well, he's nothing to worry about while he's in there. Your brains, power and inventions, along with my power, brains and immortality will make us the rulers of this world soon enough! Put your hands on this, Onion." He grabbed Onion's hand and let him feel the orange orb with a dark orange star decorating the very center of one side. The orb itself felt like a very large marble. "That's a Dragon Ball. Pretty soon, you'll be putting your hands on seven of these lovely things, and immortality will be yours."

"I like the sound of that." Onion rasped as he rolled the Dragon Ball between his hands. "Once I'm immortal, I'll let you finish off that old fool."

"When I do, it will take Piccolo down as well." Garlic rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Come on, let's go find the rest of those Dragon Balls!" Onion laughed too and followed his father out, leaving Kami all alone in the buzzing, glowing prison that he could not escape.

"Mr. Popo, please hurry…"   


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To be continued… 


	15. Silent One: Chapter 15

Author's note: Minor lemon warning ;) I tried not to make it all gross, and I hope nobody is offended. And if you really want to know how someone and someone else accomplished the "act", to visit Sara Piccolo's page(I don't remember the URL :( ), because it has a rather interesting essay. 

Silent One  
Chapter 15

A lot of noise and yelling faded into the night air as a wild-haired form and a small green form flopped down onto their backs in the middle of a large room with a red floor. Both forms were exhausted, sweating and breathing hard. Both forms were bruised up a bit. Both had given everything they had in that spar.

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That damn kid is more powerful then he looks! Everything we do comes out as a tie. Vegeta thought to himself. _Piccolo certainly trains him well. He can be such an asshole, but at least he pays any attention at all to his kid. Feh. My father hardly even looked at me._ He pushed the thoughts out of his mind and turned his head to the little Namek next to him.

Tategoto had already stopped panting and was breathing normally again as he turned his black eyes to Vegeta and grinned. **Another tie.** He signed. 

"Don't get all smug now. That's my job, Badass." Vegeta smirked, crossing his arms while still lying on his back. 'Badass' was his nickname for the little Namek, though he often said 'kid'. He rarely did say the boy's name. Tategoto sat up and assumed the meditation position that his father took, smirking a bit himself because he had a surprise for Vegeta. The Saiyan raised a thick eyebrow at the child, "What? What are you staring at now?"

Tategoto giggled, then concentrated on feeling that vibration in his throat and making his mouth move properly. "Vedjah-teh." He managed to utter, his voice sounding almost like someone were plugging his nose. After all, a person's language is what shapes the palate in their mouth and the shape is what creates a person's accent. Since Tategoto's palate didn't really have much shaping, it made his voice sound very strange. But what he'd said could be understood. Barely.

Vegeta sat up as if someone had jabbed him in the back with a hot poker, his eyes wide. "Did you just say my name?! Or was I hearing things?"

Tategoto laughed at the Saiyan's shocked expression. **I talked.** He signed slowly, **I want to learn how to so I can do it as good as I can talk with my hands. Not everybody talks with their hands, after all.**

"You've got a point, kid." Vegeta commented under his breath, making sure Tategoto could see his face to read his lips. Then he smirked and got down on his back, assuming a sit-up position, looking over at Tategoto. "You up for more?"

Tategoto immediately flopped onto his back with his hands behind his head and nodded, the material of his cape rustling as he wiggled to straighten the wrinkles out. He and Vegeta both started to do rapid sit-ups, moving as if synchronized as occasional gasps or loud exhalations started to punctuate the silence.

Angry footsteps stomped to the door, and moments later, a shadow fell over Vegeta and Tategoto. "VEGETA!!!!!! TATEGOTO!!!!"

"Shit!" Vegeta lost his concentration and fell on his back right as Tategoto completed another full sit-up. The young Namek was obviously not aware that Bulma was there.

"Hah!" Tategoto pumped his fist into the air as he fell onto his back, panting. **I won!** "Ack!" He felt fingers grab onto his pointed ear and drag him to his feet. A messy-haired, bathrobe-clad Bulma glared down at him, and Vegeta was glaring at her from his spot by the gravity machine. Tategoto just kinda smiled innocently in an 'I didn't do it' way, then dove between her legs and dashed outside with such speed that he was little more then a green and white blur.

"Hey!" Bulma screamed as a scowling Vegeta leap-frogged over her and dashed out as well.

"Clean your own damn floor, Woman!" He called back sharply, grabbing Tategoto's arm and hopping up onto the roof of the gravity room. Then he peeked over the edge to find Bulma looking around for them. She finally threw her arms up, muttered something and walked into the house to go to bed.

Tategoto put his hands over his mouth and giggled some more, imitating Bulma's angry expression. Vegeta's thick eyebrows drew together as he snickered, held out his hand and said, "Good work, kid. We need to harass her like that more often." He smirked as Tategoto slapped his outstretched hand, then held his hand out so Vegeta could slap it back. Afterwards, the wild-haired Saiyan crossed his arms and took on his usual smug, scowling smirk.

Yawning more then laughing, Tategoto signed, **I'm tired. I'll just go inside and sleep for awhile until my father shows up.** He walked to the edge of the roof and prepared to leap down, but before doing so, he turned and signed, **That was fun! Now I have a secret.** He waited for Vegeta to nod to show he was understanding before continuing, **You're my best friend. Good night!** Tategoto grinned, hopped off the roof and crept into the house, leaving Vegeta there speechless.

After fifteen or so minutes had passed, Vegeta hopped off the roof, did a front flip and landed on his feet with the grace and silence of a ninja. He held his head high and pranced into the house like he owned everything inside with only one thing on his mind. Food. After getting himself a massive tuna sandwich and wolfing it down, he headed into the living room where Tategoto was sound asleep on the couch, sitting up like his father often did. Seeing the child like that, the arrogance left Vegeta's face for a few seconds as he reached over and pushed Tategoto over so he'd lay down.

The little Namek didn't even break the soft rhythm of his breathing as he tumbled over to rest on his side, the overstuffed arm of the couch serving as a pillow. His turban came halfway off, so Vegeta reached down and carefully removed it, laying it on the floor where it would be easily found. Then he reached his hand to the back of the couch and plucked the knitted orange blanket that Chichi had made to "decorate" the couch a little. It was just the right size to cover Tategoto, which Vegeta did with awkward gentleness.

Tategoto grunted in his sleep when Vegeta got up, and his small green antennae twitched as he dreamed. Vegeta hesitantly reached his hand down and brushed the tiny appendages back, stopping a moment to look at what he was doing. His tan, callused hand contrasted against the smooth green skin of the little Namekian's scalp, which felt much softer and warmer then it looked. The feel of Tategoto's soft skin caused the corner of Vegeta's mouth to curl slightly upwards into what may have been a smile. _He sure does look like Piccolo… Is this what it's like to have a child?_ He wondered silently, now that nobody would know he was thinking. _I kill worlds and he calls me his best friend. Heh._ His black eyes lowered to the little green face, which had the innocence of youth still woven into every feature. Lean and stubby at the same time, his little hands grasped the edges of his cape, the fingers flexing and relaxing intermittently in their own rhythm. Steadily, the small chest rose and fell, soft sighs following each downwards motion.

Drawing his hand back slowly, Vegeta stood up and spoke in a quiet tone that was just a hair above a whisper, "You're my best friend too, kid." Surprised at his own words, the Saiyan Prince backed away from the couch and disappeared down the hall to get some sleep.

Thick steam, white and billowing, filled the entire room and condensed on the sliding doors that led into the shower/bath combination. Everything seemed deathly still and silent, save for the occasional sound of water dripping. Then, all of a sudden, a large green hand with pointed white nails emerged from the steam, pressed itself against the glass and slid down the smooth surface, leaving a handprint streak that wiped away some of the condensation. A slender brown hand slowly joined the green one, pressing gently against it as the slender fingers caressed the larger ones.

Yasmine was trembling slightly, her dark skin seeming darker because she was flushed, and her rapid soft breathing seemed to reverberate off the walls. She slowly straightened, her sparkling dark eyes opening as she looked over at the muscular green figure before her. 

Piccolo's head was still back, his neck looking much longer then it really was and his Adam's apple was standing out prominently above his collarbones. His wonderful pectoral muscles rose and fell as he breathed in slow, deep breaths, taking his time before finally opening his endlessly black eyes. 

__

So powerful…this feeling…Piccolo thought silently as he took his hand away from the shower door and sat up again properly. _If I had known, I'd never have stopped her that first time…_

"Piccolo?" Yasmine whispered quietly.

"Yeah?" He replied in his usual raspy voice.

"Are you OK?"

Slowly, the Namekian nodded his head yes and stood up like nothing happened, droplets of water and clumps of glittery white bubbles running off his lower body as he pushed aside the shower door and climbed out. For a moment or two, Piccolo stood there so the rest of the water could drip off his long legs. His legs were surprisingly lean, but full of muscle just like the rest of him; after all, Piccolo's muscles didn't all bulk up unless he powered up. Even still, he didn't look like a little stick either. Not by a long shot.

Inadvertently, he was giving Yasmine a great view of his rear end, and she giggled quietly, then more when he turned to see what she was laughing at. It gave her a second to notice that _whatever_ he'd had between his legs a few seconds ago was no longer visible. In it's place was a pink patch much like on his arms and legs. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Yasmine said as she stepped out of the tub, her brown feet slapping against the tile floor. She brushed her hair back and gave a brief glimpse of her athletic figure, smirking to herself when she saw Piccolo shoot a single glance her way.

Huffing to himself, Piccolo glanced at her long, slender, slightly muscular chocolate brown legs, shapely hips and small round breasts. _Now what the hell am I doing that for?_ He shook his head, turned on his heel and headed out into the bedroom. The tall Namekian was starting to climb into his clothes when he noticed a pair of round, white button like eyes peering out at him from the shadows. "Mr. Popo?"

The black genie slowly emerged from the shadows, the blue gem on his white turban shimmering slightly in the light. "There's no time to waste. Kami is in danger…"

Yasmine came out of the bathroom wearing her black robe and dragging a comb through her wet hair, which was dripping glittering droplets from the ends. "What the!?" She cried when she saw Popo. "What the hell is that!? How the hell did he get in my house!?!!!"

Mr. Popo's expression didn't change as his round red mouth moved to form, "I am not a thing. I am Popo." He turned his round face to Piccolo and blinked his white button-like eyes once, then started to speak, "Garlic Jr. is back, and he has Kami…" He went on to explain about how every thousand years, the planets line up in such a pattern that allows the Dead-zone portal to weaken enough for a strong person to escape. Since Garlic was immortal and powerful, he escaped with his son, who had been "born" while they were trapped. The kid was powerful, and thus was able to survive the journey.

"Kami? Garlic Jr.?" Yasmine waved her comb in the air once, "Hel-lo? Would somebody kindly explain what is going on?" She stopped and put her hands on her hips, her brown forehead wrinkling as she frowned.

Fifteen minutes later, Yasmine sat down hard on her bed, having just had a whole lot of stuff about Dragon Balls, Kami's life history and little demons that wanted to conquer the world all crammed into her ears and mind. Piccolo finished getting dressed while Popo just stood there like a statue, patiently waiting. Yasmine got dressed as well, and slung a duffel bag over her shoulder.

"Yasmine? What are you doing?" Piccolo asked as he settled his cape over his shoulders.

"I'm coming with you." She replied boldly.

"ARE YOU NUTS!!!!?" The Namekian's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he nearly did a nose-dive right there. "Garlic and his little cronies could kill you with a thought!" He realized what he was saying and added on, quickly composing himself, "Besides, you'd only get in the way."

"He could kill you too just as easily, I bet." Yasmine retorted, pushing her hair over her shoulder and letting it slap against her back. Mr. Popo's gaze shifted briefly to her, then back to Piccolo before he turned and went into the living room to wait. "Piccolo, I just can't stand here and watch you go face that guy alone."

"I won't be alone. I'm going to get Tategoto and take him with me." His voice rumbled through the room.

"He's just a kid!" She cried.

"A kid with a lot of power." Piccolo added in, turning to face Yasmine slowly with his arms crossed and his face a stoic mask. "This is what I teach him to fight for. To face dangers like this. You know who Gohan is right?" When she nodded, he continued, "Well he was Tategoto's age and when Garlic Jr. first showed up, and was the person that ended up defeating him. And aside from that, Vegeta will probably end up coming too, so that'll add even more power."

Speechless, Yasmine watched Piccolo grab the corner of his cape and sweep it around himself as he turned, the white fabric rustling as it settled against his back. Finally finding her voice again, she said, "Hey Piccolo?" She paused, "Be careful OK? I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you or Tategoto."

Piccolo half-turned to face her with deadly seriousness on his face. His black eyes sparkled, visible even in the shadows. "You can bet on it." With a sweep of his cape, the tall Namekian gracefully turned and loped out of the bedroom to meet Mr. Popo, who was standing on a carpet that seemed to be floating. He turned to Yasmine and flashed a few brief sign-language gestures, almost as if he didn't want Popo to know what he was saying. **I promise you that I will return.** Then he turned again, walked out the door and flew away, following Mr. Popo.

Yasmine smiled briefly as she walked to the doorway to watch him go. Piccolo and Mr. Popo were only specks in the distance, and in a few more seconds, they disappeared. Sighing, she leaned on the doorframe, some of her sable hair falling across her forehead.

A sudden raspy snicker broke the silence, startling Yasmine. "So touching…" There was a yellow flash of light, and Yasmine felt her entire body go numb as she slid down the edge of the doorframe and crumpled into a brown heap on the floor. "I hope you don't mind if I take you along…for fun."

"Ungh…" She moaned, her consciousness growing dark. In a few seconds, her eyes rolled up into her head and closed. The sound of fingers snapping came from the shadows, and a red figure that looked a lot like a six foot tall Saibaman with a humanoid face, long white hair that moved with a life of its own and a thin, two foot long purple horn growing from the middle of his forehead dropped down a hole he had just made in the ceiling. The garish red figure picked Yasmine up carefully with his four fingered hands, then looked to the person in the shadows and grinned, flashing needle sharp yellow teeth.

Raspy laughter echoed out of the shadows as the person there tossed their head back. When the person did that, the light briefly shimmered off a blood red jewel.

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To be continued… 


	16. Silent One: Chapter 16

Silent One  
Chapter 16

Dark eyes dragged themselves open, then slid shut again. A chocolate brown hand came up and rubbed against a tangle of sable hair. The dark eyes dragged themselves open again, the pupils slowly equalizing into focus. Reflected in those eyes was several glowing gold bars of energy, and a faint humming sound could be heard all around.

"I see you're awake."

Yasmine jerked her head in the direction of the voice. Sitting cross-legged on the other end of the prison with his wooden stick in his lap was Kami. His blue cape was settled in folds around him, and the white part of his clothing was slightly dirty. His dark eyes were fixed on Yasmine at the moment, filled with concern. From far away, the only way Yasmine had seen him, he had looked kind of fierce. But up close, she realized, he looked very kind, caring and wise.

"I guess…" Yasmine muttered back, rubbing her back where the blast hit her since it was still sore as she realized that her duffel bag was under her head like a pillow. "Where am I?"

"Underground somewhere. I can't be sure where because I was also unconscious when I was brought here." Kami's voice echoed slightly, but whether it was the room or the bars on the prison, Yasmine couldn't tell.

She cocked her head for a moment and studied Kami, then wiped her hair back and said, "Hey, aren't you the guy that Tategoto was trying to sign to? Yeah…you are, aren't you? Is your name Kami?"

Nodding his head with a faint smile that caused wrinkles to form in the corners of his eyes, Kami replied, "That I am. How do know of me and Piccolo's little boy?"

After introducing herself, Yasmine said, "Well, I taught Piccolo sign language so he could communicate with Tategoto. Let's just say we…" She bit her lip for a moment, "Got a little closer." She got serious again. "Earlier tonight, that funny little guy with the turban and a magic carpet showed up and told us that there's two people after Dragon Balls…is it really true that you created them?"

"Indeed, it is." Kami slowly extended his fist and pointed to something just outside the cage. Six orange orbs glistened in the light, each one about the size of a softball and smooth like an oversized marble. "As long as I'm alive, they'll stay in this realm. But if I die, Piccolo will die as well and the Dragon Balls will go into another dimension. It works in reverse as well. If Piccolo dies, I die too and the Dragon Balls go with me."

"Whoa…you mean you're spiritually connected or something?" Yasmine's slender eyebrows went up.

Kami nodded, then glanced up and jumped to his feet. "Be alert. Onion's here."

"Oh, so she's awake? I thought I heard voices in here." Onion stepped out of the shadows with a toothy grin, the blood colored gem on his forehead glittering in the eerie light. Aside from a blinking light in the corner and the light from the energy bars on the prison, there was no other light in the room. Anything between the blinking light on the control panel and the bars was lost in blackness. Onion was standing on the very edge of the light, and his face was illuminated in such a way that it resembled a pale skull rather then a face.

"What do you want with me you little blueberry midget!?" Yasmine shouted, racing towards the bars. Kami moved to stop her, but was too late. Yasmine's brown hands locked around the bars and…nothing happened to her.

__

Of course! She doesn't have a high enough ki for the bars to react to! Kami thought, listening to Onion laugh at Yasmine's insult. The old Namek started smirking at the fact that Onion was completely unaware that Yasmine could touch the bars. He quickly projected his thoughts to Yasmine. _Don't be alarmed, this is telepathy. Do not react to what I say, just listen. I cannot touch those bars because of my powers. You can because you don't channel ki. That gives us an edge. Do not let Onion realize this. He doesn't know you're touching the bars because he is blind. Scratch your head if you heard and understand me._

Yasmine scratched her head, and Kami smiled slightly. She backed away from the bars, glancing at her hands for a moment to see if they were damaged at all. "Piccolo's going to use your head for a hockey puck when he finds out you have me here, Onion."

Onion giggled maliciously and stepped forward, making sure not to contact the bars as he rolled one of the Dragon Balls around with his foot. Because it was made of something like glass, the ball made a faint grinding noise when it was moved. "By the time Piccolo gets here, I'll be immortal. Just like my father! HAH! HAHAHAHA! What do you think of that!?" As he spoke, he presented the last Dragon Ball and placed it with the other six. Kami gasped when he saw this, mouthing the word 'no'.

"You're still a runt!" Yasmine shouted back.

"You won't think so when I become immortal like my father!" Onion growled back, flashing a smart-assed smile that just about any person would want to slap right back off. He knew he was being an ass and loved every minute of it as he gloated over his victory. "Salsa! Get in here!"

The ugly red figure that had carried Yasmine out of her house appeared in the room, his spaghetti-like hair waving around him as if it were underwater. He was this tall, strong looking monster, and yet when he spoke, his voice was a nasal little boy's voice, "Yessss Onion?"

"Watch those two. I'm going to go wait for my father to return from terrorizing the city." Onion laughed again before turning and being swallowed by the shadows of the enclosed room. The garish figure known as Salsa quickly complied, crossing his beefy arms as he sat down facing the prison.

Yasmine took notice that Salsa wasn't too smart, at least not when it came to situations that didn't involve fighting. She looked over at Kami, her eyes taking on a gleam of mischief as her lips pulled into a slight smirk. "Hey, Kami?" She said softly so the big red oaf wouldn't hear her, "I think I'm going to need to borrow a piece of your wooden stick. Just a piece about as big as a long twig."

"What for?" Kami whispered back, using his pointed nail to slice a thin piece off the side of his wooden stick. The soft sound of his nail scratching the wood fibers was just barely audible above the buzz of the bars.

Taking a lighter out of her pocket, Yasmine whispered, "I have an idea…"

****

…so we have to fight him before he gets the chance to take over the world. Piccolo was signing to Tategoto and spoke the same words to Vegeta as they flew behind Mr. Popo, who chose not to take part in the conversation. He had to concentrate on feeling Kami's ki anyway. Behind them, Vegeta was going along at his own pace as the wind blew his wild hair back.

"It's about damn time something happened around here!" Vegeta snapped, moving up so he could fly next to Tategoto. He looked at the young Namek, who was flying with his fists out in front of him like one of his favorite super-heroes. "So, little Badass, you ready for a real fight?" He slapped his fist against his open palm, making a loud slapping sound that was lost in the wind.

Tategoto grinned a toothy grin that flashed his fangs and nodded his head. His hands moved quickly as he signed to Vegeta, **I fly like Superman, I'll fight like my dad when it's time to fight, but I'm going to pretend I'm Wolverine the whole time I'm doing it.** He laughed.

Vegeta laughed his barking laugh. "Hey Piccolo! Your runt thinks he's Wolverine now."

"You never shoulda let Bulma take him to see that X-men movie." Piccolo muttered, wanting to keep his mind on the battle ahead. He disappeared briefly behind a cloud, then reappeared seconds later.

"I told you before, I'm not a damn baby-sitter! That kid hangs around with me, he's on his own. He's the one that bugged her to go see it anyway!"

"NAH!" Tategoto let out a shriek and stopped flying when they were all directly above Yasmine's house. The sudden outburst startled everyone to silence, and they all stopped to see what was wrong. Tategoto dove towards the rooftop of the house, having noticed the hole there. He dropped down through the hole and landed in a crouch, looking around quickly before standing. His blood boiled with anger for the first time in his life as he slowly realized that Yasmine had been kidnapped. "Grrr!" Tategoto took off again, flying out the hole he entered through. Piccolo and Vegeta were still hovering there, the look on Piccolo's face being more then enough to explain that he knew what Tategoto knew.

"What's the problem?" Vegeta growled, his thick eyebrows drawing together.

****

Garlic and Onion have Yasmine. Tategoto signed angrily, seeming to punctuate what he signed with a sharp sound from his throat that could only be described as a growl.

****

We'll make him wish he never made that decision. Piccolo signed back, then said to Vegeta, "Garlic has Yasmine."

"So? What does that pitiful human mean to you anyway?"

The Namekian man didn't reply. He just scowled at Vegeta and motioned for Tategoto to follow as he rose to join Mr. Popo again. _Garlic, your ass is mine. You've just crossed the line, and now it's personal!_ He glanced over at Tategoto. Tategoto's muscles were all bunched up, his eyes were narrowed into slits, his nose was wrinkled into a sneer and his teeth were clenched. The inner rage inside him was building, and the warrior flame was starting to burn in his eyes. _Yes, Tategoto, you are ready…_

"This is as far as I can take you." Mr. Popo came to a stop above the place where Garlic's old palace once stood before he was sent to the Dead Zone. "If I'm correct, his palace has been re-built underground. So be careful." The black genie slowly rose on his magic carpet. "Good luck." With that, he was gone.

"Humph. I just want to tear something apart." Vegeta muttered.

"I think you'll get your chance." Piccolo replied, still fuming about Yasmine. As he spoke, green figure that looked a lot like Salsa exploded upwards from under the dirt, but the shape of the body was more then enough to prove that it was actually female. This creature had FOUR arms, the lowest pair ending with three-pronged pinchers. Instead of a horn on her forehead, she had something that looked like a two-foot-long black scorpion's tail, complete with the curving stinger. The appendage waved and slithered through the air like a snake. Her slanted eyes had slitted red pupils that seemed to shimmer with bloodlust, and her living hair waved around her. The dark green strands were thicker then Salsa's, and the color alone as well as her female appearance made her resemble the mythical Medusa.

Garlic blurred into view briefly, snickering wildly at the three people. "So you managed to find me! Too bad you won't survive to save your pitiful friends! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He looked at the green thing, "Kill all of them but that one." He pointed to Piccolo. "I want him alive until I say otherwise." His blue-green face contorted demonically as tossed his head back and laughed, phasing out once again before anybody could attack him.

"Yessss, Garlic." She purred. "Greetingssssss." The green monster hissed through thick black lips with a forked tongue. "Allow me to introduce mysssself. I am Relissssssssh."

"Relish, huh? Remind me to bring a hot dog next time." Vegeta sneered. Relish glared at him, and he was blown backwards when a ki blast from the scorpion-tail appendage on her forehead collided with his stomach. "You bitch!" The angry Saiyan got to his feet with a small burn mark where he'd been hit. "Piccolo! You and Tategoto get down there and find whatever you need. I'll handle this bitch and join you later." As soon as he spoke, Vegeta charged his ki and began his assault on the abomination that called herself Relish.

Salsa slumped forward slowly in a deep sleep. Yasmine was holding the piece of Kami's stick out in front of her, the burning end pointed towards the slumping red figure. "Can you hear me?" The misshapen head slowly rose and fell in a slight nod. "Good, now get up and turn the power to this cage off. As long as you're in the trance you'll do as I say, so get to it."

Like a docile little lamb, Salsa got up and lumbered to the control panel. His beefy finger extended and depressed the red light, which turned out to be a button. The gold energy bars around the cage flickered, went dim and finally thinned down until they were nothing. That also eliminated the strongest light-source in the room, save for the tiny flame that Yasmine had used to hypnotize Salsa. And it was so dark that a person couldn't see their hand if it was held right in front of their face.

Thanks to the power of ki, Kami was able to provide light to see with, the eerie white flame on his fingertips seeming to accent the wrinkles on his face and head. He smiled over at Yasmine as they made their way across the room from the cage, towards the arching doorway that led out. "You are very resourceful."

"Thanks. Now let's get the hell out of here." Yasmine said back.

"Not so fast…" Onion growled as he appeared in the arching doorway to the cave-like room. "Salsa you _baka!_"

"Uh oh." Kami muttered, sticking out an arm and maneuvering himself in front of Yasmine. He whispered to her, "Stay silent and he may not find you."

"Right."

Unfortunately, Onion was a very good guesser, and walked right up to where Kami and Yasmine were standing. Kami tensed, holding his wooden stick like a Bo as he took on a more aggressive stance. His wrinkled features were always so pleasant, but when he got angry, they could be quite intimidating. Especially with the white flame of his ki illuminating his face the way it was.

"So you think you could just escape?" Onion snickered, tilting his head back until he was facing Kami's general direction.

Kami brightened the ki flame that he had illuminated on his fingertips, tilted his head down slightly and said telepathically to Yasmine, _Let's split up. It may make it harder for him to find us that way._ Yasmine understood, but couldn't show it with a gesture since Kami's back was to her. So instead, she started to tip-toe away from Kami, almost heading towards Salsa.

"Bad girl!" Onion was in front of Yasmine in a flash, floating nearly eye level with her, his cape flowing around him.

"Didn't your mother ever smack you enough?" Yasmine retorted, her hand aimed to slap the young demon across the face. Onion laughed, caught her hand, gripped her wrist tightly and effortlessly threw her across the room. She slid along the floor, getting a few scrapes, and landed on her back. Onion approached her, and Kami was about to intercept when Salsa came out of the trance and attacked.

The two went into a swift hit and block routine. Then Salsa managed to pin Kami to the wall by his throat, and for a few seconds, Kami struggled as the air was cut off from his lungs. Then he clenched his teeth as a pulse of golden light erupted from his body. He rose up, the force of his sudden movement and the ki sending Salsa flying. The red figure collided against the opposite wall with a deafening thud, then slid down to the floor with a few rocks tumbling down on top of him. Just like in a cartoon, there was an imprint in the wall that matched his outline. Having gotten a beating himself, Kami leaned tiredly on the wall to regain his breath.

Yasmine watched Onion approach, feeling completely helpless upon realizing that she had just tried to hit someone that could kill her with a thought. At the same time, she was angry too, angry at the way she was being treated and the danger her friends were being put into. As the little demon got closer, Yasmine slid her hand back to scoot away and her fingers encountered something hard. Moving her hand back slightly, her fingers slowly closed around something cold like glass, smooth like a marble and as big around as a softball.

"I think it's time for you to say 'good night'." Onion snickered, not noticing or sensing Yasmine's movement.

Yasmine narrowed her dark eyes. "Good night." She whipped her arm around, using the Dragon Ball as a weapon to club Onion right in the temple. While he was dazed from the unexpected move, she brought the orange orb back, gripped it tight and sent it crashing down on the top of the little demon's head, effectively knocking him out. He fell right on top of her, so she rolled to the side to shove him into the inactive cage while grabbing her duffel bag. "Don't mess with an angry woman." She muttered, rolling over again so she could get to her feet. She looked at the Dragon Ball in her hand, "This thing came in handy after all." She gasped as she dashed across the room to the machine that operated the energy cage with the Dragon Ball still in her hand. Dropping her duffel bag, Yasmine punched the red button right as Onion regained consciousness. 

"No!" Onion screamed as the glowing bars appeared around him, effectively trapping him inside the prison. Instead of throwing a tantrum, however, he started to laugh instead. "I can make my wish and get out myself!"

"Not if I can help it!" Yasmine shouted, turning her back to Onion while she held the Dragon Ball high. Seconds later, the sound of shattering glass filled the air, and she grabbed her duffel bag. "Kami! C'mon, we gotta get outta here." Kami looked at her like she was insane as he turned to Salsa and fired a blast from his palm that seemed to finish him off.

"You destroyed it…" He hissed, watching Onion laugh while still in the cage.

"But I don't think he realizes that he's missing one." Yasmine pointed out. "C'mon, let's go while he's distracted." She pointed to the door while brushing some of her dark hair over her shoulder.

"We have to be careful. If Garlic finds us, we're in trouble." Kami pushed her towards the door. "I can carry you if we need to fly." With those final words, the human and the aged Namek dashed from the place.

And Onion got a nasty surprise when he realized that there were no longer seven Dragon Balls with which to summon the Eternal Dragon, Shen Long.

__

To be continued… 


	17. Silent One: Chapter 17

Silent One  
Chapter 17

KA-BLAM!!! BLAM!!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! SMACK!!!!! Bright explosions and the sound of skin hitting skin or clothing rang out almost constantly. Burn marks and small craters littered the ground where missed ki blasts had hit.

Vegeta and Relish were fighting each other like it was nobody's business, and their movements were so fast that the untrained eye could not follow them. Only once every few seconds would they become visible as one or the other came out on top of the grapple they were in.

"You will not winnn, Sssssaiyan!" Relish hissed at Vegeta as she got him tangled up in her snake like hair.

Vegeta sneered and struggled against the grasp, gathering his ki until a blue glow formed in his hand. "Aren't you forgetting that I'm just getting warmed up?" He snickered at the surprised look on Relish's strange face as he slammed his glowing fist through the living strands, severing them and freeing himself. The wild-haired Saiyan backflipped once in mid air and planted both feet into the green figure's stomach, knocking her back against a piece of pillar that still remained from Garlic's old castle. For a split second, he allowed himself to think silently, _I do hope that Tategoto is OK._

Relish got back up and dove at Vegeta, starting the grapple once again. They locked hands and glared each other down as one tried to overpower the other. The ground was rumbling and trembling around them as their power levels rose.

Tategoto and Piccolo had just busted through a weak spot in the ground, which put them at the end of a very long tubular corridor. The corridor was about a hundred yards wide, and painted completely gray. Tategoto dropped down first, but went flying back up like he had burned his feet when thousands of three-foot long spikes arranged in rows that were three feet apart erupted from the curving floor, ready to impale any poor fool unfortunate enough to fall down there.

Piccolo's black eyes narrowed when he looked down the hole and saw the spikes. "This is not good…" He tapped Tategoto on the shoulder to get his attention and signed, **Fly near the ceiling as much as you can. Anticipate anything and everything. Understand?**

Tategoto's black eyes sparkled as he nodded and slowly lowered down the hole, staying close to the ceiling as Piccolo lowered behind him. They stood there in mid air for a moment before the hole they had come through suddenly went dark. Piccolo growled and Tategoto put his hands on the ceiling as if to see if he could find the opening again. He stopped moving for a second, then grabbed his father's flowing white cape and tugged. **Do you feel that?**

When Piccolo pursed his lips and shook his head, Tategoto grabbed his wrist, just above the ring of red flesh, and put his hand against the ceiling where a very small vibration was just making itself apparent. The older Namekian blinked and looked down, being just in time to see the spikes rotating up closer. The room was rotating! As the spikes that were the floor became the wall, more spikes started to jut out in rows to join the first set that had appeared, and the rotating room was throwing off both the Namekians' equilibrium. The room was one of Onion's many self-made traps, which didn't affect him because of his blindness.

****

Tategoto, close your eyes and hang onto me. I can hear to guide us out. Piccolo signed quickly.

****

OK. But hurry! The walls are closing in! Tategoto signed, wide-eyed as he clutched onto his father's gi and hid his face against his muscular chest. Upon this realization, Piccolo fixed his eyes onto the other end of the corridor, closed them slowly and flew straight that way, letting his other senses warn him of danger. He could feel the spikes getting closer, hear the grinding wall as the room rotated and prayed silently that there would be a way out.

Pretty soon, the glistening sharp edges were only a foot away from the rapidly flying Namek, and the closer they got, the faster the wall rotated. Opening his eyes for a second to see how far they were from the end of the hall, Piccolo realized that it was a dead end! "Oh, that's just perfect!" With his head swimming and a very painful death growing closer, Piccolo managed to spot a four foot square-shaped area where there were no spikes. He shoved Tategoto into that small space, and squeezed himself in as well, his body surrounding his son's so that any spikes that reached them would hit him instead of the child. He had to keep his ki active so that gravity wouldn't pull them away from the space, but that was easy to do.

Tategoto squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his face against the throbbing spot over Piccolo's chest, the rapid beating of his heart seeming to match the throbbing of Piccolo's heartbeat against his forehead. He tilted his head slightly and could see the spikes over his father's shoulder, growing closer by the second as shimmers ran across the sharp silver edges. He glimpsed his father's face. His expression was passive, unafraid, but his eyes were squeezed shut.

The room vibrated more intensely, and Piccolo gritted his teeth, tensing slightly when he felt the spikes only a few inches away. Their sharp tips made contact with his back and started to press down. It wouldn't be long before the knife-like spikes would rip through his skin. He tensed some more, awaiting the pain. Sharp edges pressed against the Namekian's back. They pressed down and moved no further. He held his breath and waited to see if the spikes were going to move any more. When they didn't, he let a long sigh escape. 

Piccolo and Tategoto both relaxed slightly and looked around, their loud breathing reverberating off the walls. The older Namekian released his grip on the younger one slowly so he could sign, **Move very carefully and as little as possible. I don't want to chance this thing moving any more.**

Tategoto nodded, and slowly started to turn over onto his stomach, pushing his cape out of the way as he did so. He put his hands flat on the surface of the gray wall, and his fingers instantly detected a groove. Pulling didn't help, so he started to push, and almost instantly, the wall started to give way to the pressure. It wasn't a weak spot, it was a hidden door. Piccolo laid his hands flat near where Tategoto was pushing and started to help, but a loud creak snatched his attention.

"Crap." He muttered when he saw that the spikes above them were vibrating. The entire ceiling was vibrating, and growing more unsteady by the second. Piccolo bore his teeth and pushed on the wall with all his might, feeling it give way faster. "C'mon!" He growled, the pink muscles in his arms bulging out and rippling with the force he was putting into the shove. The door suddenly gave way and Piccolo shoved Tategoto through.

Tategoto let a loud grunt as he tumbled through the opening, then quickly flipped to his feet and turned around to help his father if necessary. Piccolo glanced back up at the ceiling full of spikes one last time, then dove through the tiny hole in the wall. Less then a second after his feet cleared the opening, a loud clang sounded as the ceiling full of gleaming silver spikes went crashing to the floor. Piccolo got up and looked back at what had nearly turned him into Swiss Cheese. Snorting he flipped his cape over his shoulder and turned around to look over at Tategoto.

****

I wasn't scared. Were you? Tategoto signed with a grin, making a really big joke because he knew full well how scared he'd been.

Piccolo just shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Crazy kid." He said in an amused tone. **Keep your guard up. This is not a game.**

Nodding, Tategoto quickly snapped to alert, looking all around to make sure nobody was sneaking up on him. He turned, saw a flash of white and instantly jumped into a fighting stance, watching the bit of white for a moment to see what it would do. Piccolo took on a stance as well, but crept closer to what Tategoto was seeing. He started to see some green, then hints of pink, dark purple and navy blue. 

****

It's just your reflection. Still, stay on guard. Piccolo signed to the boy, motioning him to follow. Tategoto complied, dashing to his father's side without protest or question.

****

I'm still Wolverine. He signed quickly with a grin.

Piccolo smirked. "Come on, 'Wolverine'. Let's go." He said, signing the sentence at the same time. Tategoto nodded and quickly followed behind his father.

"Onion! You idiot!" Garlic snarled as he hit the button to deactivate the energy cage. "They made off with one of the Dragon Balls! Now we have to go chase them down to get it back!" He grabbed Onion by the ear and dragged him out of the cage, his teeth bore the entire time. "Come on! Piccolo and his little brat have already bypassed your R.I.T.!"

"That's impossible! There's no way ANYBODY could escape the Rotating Impaler Trap!" Onion shrieked, breaking free of his father's grasp. The gem on his forehead glowed eerily in the shadows as he followed Garlic through an arching doorway that was as tall as a two-story building and led into the main room where two large thrones were arranged against the dingy wall. Two other doors exactly like the one he had passed through were placed on either side of the room. "I built it with remains of Dr. Willow's laboratory! The spin throws off a person's equilibrium and SHOULD make them fly right into the spikes!"

"YOU FORGET THAT PICCOLO IS NOT AN ORDINARY PERSON!!!!!" Garlic screamed, practically showering Onion in his spit. "And there's no telling HOW STRONG his little brat of his is!!! To top all that off, Kami and that human are running around here somewhere! We have to find them and get that Dragon Ball back." He seemed to grow an inch taller with each angry word he spat from his mouth.

Onion wrung his hands and growled. _How did that pitiful human get away? For that matter, what did she do to Salsa to get him to do her bidding? Well, let's just hope that Relish does a better job at fighting whoever is still outside on the surface._

"Onion! Sit down for a few minutes and let's cool down. Anger clouds the judgment and right now, we're both too pissed to think." Garlic growled low, drumming his fingers on the arm of the large throne he sat in. Onion grumbled, but complied, taking a seat in the throne identical to his father's.

"If anything, I want to rip Piccolo's kid apart." The younger demon muttered, sitting back with a devious smirk on his face as his eyes stared blankly ahead.

"All in due time, Onion. All in due time. After all, you'll have plenty of it once we get that Dragon Ball back."

White material, framed with dark blue-violet and green, faintly stood out in the shadows. Very close to that shape, a chocolate brown and black shape was hunched over slightly.

"What are we gonna do? They're _right there_." Yasmine whispered to Kami. 

"Shhh." Kami whispered back.

Yasmine and Kami were huddled behind a pillar, and were about to make a dash through the throne room when Garlic and Onion walked in. So they were huddled behind a pillar in the shadows. However, Garlic and Onion were so close that any sound above a whisper would be noticed immediately. It got even worse when the two went deathly quiet, so their two eavesdroppers could no longer whisper, and for a time, the sound of a heartbeat seemed deafening in the silence. Kami seemed quite calm, but Yasmine was scared out of her mind and just barely able to keep herself from breathing too loud.

The silence was finally shattered when Garlic stood up and said, "I'm going to go get myself something to eat."

"Bring me some of that fruit while you're at it, will ya?" Onion piped up as he absently propped his chin on the palm of his hand and rubbed the bump on his head from where Yasmine had laid the smackdown on him with the Dragon Ball. _If I get my hands on that human, I'll put my fist through her face so she can see how it feels!_

"You know you're too young for that stuff yet. You can have half of one, OK?" Garlic spoke boredly, punctuating it with a yawn. "I'll be right back then. Stay here, just in case Kami and that weak little human show up again."

"Yes, father." Onion replied, leaning back and crossing his arms. Garlic turned away from his pouting son and walked to the opposite end of the room where Yasmine and Kami were huddled. They were very fortunate that he wasn't heading towards them or the door they needed to reach, and the two eavesdroppers held their breath as his small shape disappeared from view.

Kami watched Garlic leave, then turned to Yasmine. "OK, it is now or never. I'm going to lift and carry you, just in case we need to move fast."

"Right." Yasmine whispered back, allowing Kami to lift her with ease. It surprised her that he was so strong, especially since he looked so old. In a few seconds, the old Namek was levitating near the top of the high arching doorway with Yasmine clutching his wooden stick since his hands were busy with the task of hanging onto her.

As silently as possible, Kami took in a deep breath and floated into the room where Onion was. If Onion were able to see, he would have noticed them right away, but since he couldn't, he boredly went about picking the dirt out from under his fingernails while the human and the Namek floated almost right past his face. 

Kami flew high and along the wall, just to avoid being heard in some way or another.

Yasmine felt like she was in some nightmare, and began to wonder when she was finally going to wake up to find everything back to normal. The thin arms that were holding her as well as the person they belonged to was more then enough, however, to remind her that she was wide awake.

"Almost there…" Kami said in a soft whisper that was nearly swallowed by the silence. He and Yasmine were floating above the halfway point of the room. As long as they were silent, Kami knew they would make it to the next door without a problem. It would only take a moment to reach that door if he was quick. 

__

Everything's going to be OK. Yasmine told herself silently. _Kami's just going to fly to that door and we'll be out of here._ The thought filled her with optimism and hope. All of a sudden, she felt Kami grasp onto her tighter, and looked at him with a frown of protest. However, Kami was paying no attention to Yasmine's discomfort. That didn't matter at the moment.

What mattered right then was the fact that Garlic had returned and was currently standing directly below them.

__

To be continued… 


	18. Silent One: Chapter 18

Author's note: Sorry I was away for so long. I had a really nasty computer virus that took forever to get rid of, as well as dumb old school. Again, I apologize for making you all wait. ^_^;;

Silent One  
Chapter 18

__

Don't look up. Whatever you do, please don't look up! Yasmine thought as she bit her tongue to keep from letting out a scream.

Kami stayed statue-still, his eyes not leaving the small blue shape that was standing below them. He knew that when Garlic crossed the room and turned around to sit down, it would be all over. There was only one thing left to do, and it was a desperation move rather then a planned one.

As Garlic started to cross the room while nibbling on the fruit he'd left to retrieve, Kami powered his ki and rocketed the last of the distance between himself and the door that was his goal. The charge, as well as the sudden movement, created a loud popping sound.

"Kami! You old windbag!" Garlic screamed, powering an orb of golden light and hurling it at Kami's flying form in attempt to knock him down. Kami sped up and dodged it, sailing through the arching doorway and out of sight. The ki blast hit the ceiling and caused pieces of it to rain down. "Onion you imbecile! They were right there and you didn't hear them!?"

"It's impossible! My gem didn't even sense their presence or movements!" Onion screamed back, shaking his fists in the air. "Damn them! If I get ahold of them…I swear that I'll tear them apart!" 

Garlic, angrier then ever, hurled his piece of fruit right at Onion's face. The fruit splattered all over Onion's face and chest, showering the dark material of his clothing in sticky juice that smelled a little like vodka. "What are you waiting for? AFTER THEM!!!!"

"They're pissed!" Yasmine cried as Kami carried her down the corridor. She could see Onion starting into the doorway, and knew it was only seconds before he would locate them and start shooting. 

"Get back here!" Onion was yelling, along with words that children his age should never be allowed to say, as he tripped down the corridor after them. Once he had a good idea of where he was in the hallway, he jumped up and started to fly after Kami and Yasmine.

Yasmine was about to shout something back when Kami piped up, "No, don't say anything to him. He doesn't have an exact fix on us. I'm going to land and try to sneak us out on foot from here."

"Sounds good to me."

"Here I come!" Snickered Onion as he picked up speed. He was just a little less then ten feet behind the two when he suddenly lost the sense of Kami's power level, and stopped in mid air to reach his senses out. "Where are you hiding you cowards!? Come on out! Grr!" _Father will beat me senseless if I return without them! I have to find them!_ Onion continued flying, passing right over Kami and Yasmine as they panted against the wall.

"Come on!" Kami grabbed Yasmine's arm and started hauling her down a side corridor. Unfortunately, right at that moment, Yasmine tripped on a piece of metal, and a beam went clattering to the floor. She heard Onion laugh from somewhere at the other end of the corridor.

"Crap!" She picked up a piece of stone and looked over at Kami. "What do we do?!"

"Try to pass him when he comes this way, if he moves fast enough, he won't be able to stop and it'll buy us a few seconds."

That wouldn't be the case. Onion came in slow and landed about twenty feet away from them. "Oh, hehehe…I have you now!" He opened his palm and white light started to gather in his palm. As the glow brightened, his clothes started to blow around him from some unknown wind, and he slapped the glowing palm against his fist, causing the glow to spread to both hands. His eyes narrowed and electrical bolts started to dance between the glowing balls of ki in his hands.

Onion was just drawing his arms back to throw the ki blast when a three-and-a-half foot tall green shape slammed into him. He was sent crashing into one of the walls, and Yasmine chose that moment to haul butt past where the little demon was just starting to get up. On her way past, she flung the piece of stone she'd picked up and nailed him right in the mouth with it. As Yasmine ran past a dark corridor, something lunged out and yanked her into the shadows.

"AAH! Let go!" She screamed, her voice muffled by the person's chest as they clutched her in their vice-like grasp.

"Stop it!" The person's deep voice boomed, and she stopped struggling instantly upon recognizing the sound. She found herself looking into a familiar, angular green face with smoldering dark eyes, a triangular jaw and pointed ears. His brow ridges were drawn together in an almost natural frown.

"Piccolo!" Yasmine nearly burst into tears from the relief. "Oh God!"

Piccolo was so relieved to see Yasmine that he acted without thinking. His hand came to rest on the back of her head, he pulled her face closer and covered her mouth with his, instantly feeling her respond by kissing him back. He drew back and looked down at her stunned expression as he tried to figure out what the heck had posessed him to kiss her.

To never hear her voice again, touch her, or see her face…those ideas didn't work in Piccolo's head. They seemed strangely wrong, and it took him a moment to realize that his hand had come to rest on the soft curve of her cheek. "Are you OK?" He asked softly. "How did you get loose in this place?"

"I'm fine…and it's a long story." Yasmine breathed with her heart still thudding in her ears from that surprise kiss. She brushed her dark hair over her shoulder and turned her head just in time to see a short green shape dive through the corridor. The form shot a ki blast at the ceiling, collapsing it, then started running towards the other end of the corridor. Though Yasmine knew she wouldn't be heard, she shouted anyway, "Tategoto!"

The rubble started to move, and Kami appeared overhead to fire a blast into the rumbling debris. "Get going!" He shouted at Yasmine and Piccolo. No thought went into the reaction; Yasmine and Piccolo simply took off running down the corridor to regroup.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeegh!" Vegeta growled and narrowed his eyes as he gathered his ki while watching Relish from about fifty feet in the air. His eyes were almost as wild as his hair, and his ferocious Saiyan blood was pumping wildly through his veins. He held his arms out to the sides and watched a very beaten-up mutant stagger to her feet. "You've messed with the wrong Saiyan, you disfigured freak! And now you will PAY!!!" His glowing hands were surrounded by orbs of blue-white light as he thrust them forward, pointing his palms at the garish figure, "BIG BANG ATTACK!!!!!!"

Relish raised her head and saw the massive white blast coming for her. She brought all four arms up to block and let out a scream as the blast hit her full on. At first, it appeared that she was succeeding, but seconds later, the ground gave way and she was sent crashing through layer after layer of Garlic's underground castle. Vegeta kept pouring power into the attack, grinning wildly in the glow of the pain he was causing her.

"How do you like THAT you freak!" He taunted, "How about a little more!" More power was added, and Relish's screams grew louder.

Piccolo was hauling Yasmine down another corridor when he suddenly sensed a power directly overhead. He grabbed Tategoto by the cape, hauled him back and shoved Yasmine back just a few seconds before an ugly green shape was sent crashing through the ceiling by a hot blue-white blast. It was almost funny, the way the shape kept crashing down through the floors and leaving behind outlines of her body.

"Heeyah!" Tategoto cheered upon seeing Vegeta's blast. **That was so cool!** He kept signing over and over again.

"And it was almost too close." Piccolo added on, looking for Kami. He spotted him on the other side of the blast as it faded, and turned to look down at Yasmine. She nodded to his silent question and stood up. A small cut above her left eye was bleeding slightly, but she reached up and wiped the blood away.

Tategoto went over to the edge of the hole and looked down to see if he could see Relish, but it was too deep. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see a slightly bruised and bloody, but triumphant, Vegeta. **You sure beat her up.**

"You better believe it, kid." Vegeta replied with a smirk and crossed his arms to look over at Piccolo, Yasmine and Kami. "Relish is cooking in Hell right about now. So where's Garlic and his little brat?"

"That's not the concern right now. Right now, we have to get Yasmine and Kami out of here and hope Onion or Garlic don't catch us before we do." Piccolo looked over at Tategoto while Vegeta clenched his teeth angrily. "Don't worry, Vegeta…" Piccolo continued with a smirk, "Garlic is a handful. You'll get a piece of him when we all have to fight him. And I am going to need your help."

Vegeta snorted. "Fine with me."

"We should start moving. I think Onion's about to break through the rubble." Kami pointed to the debris where pieces of dust and small pebbles were almost trickling off the pile.

****

Onion doesn't give up, does he? Tategoto signed.

****

Reminds me of someone I know. Piccolo signed back with a smirk, then reached down and patted his son's shoulderpad, "C'mon, let's go." 

Kami and Yasmine walked alongside Piccolo while Tategoto walked with Vegeta. The silence between them lasted so long that, for a time, they all wondered if it was the same silence that Tategoto knew. And, while they were walking, Yasmine took Piccolo's hand in hers so she could feel the reassuring warmth of his strong skin. Piccolo turned his head and looked at her, then down at the chocolate brown fingers interlocking with his green ones.

Their eyes met again, and for a split second, the hard emotionless scowl was gone from Piccolo's onyx eyes. Just long enough for his feelings to be known. Yasmine returned the soft look and smiled slightly. In response, the tall Namek smirked, then faced forward and continued walking.

He was still holding Yasmine's hand.

Tategoto stopped walking, and everyone turned around to look at him like they were expecting Onion to come rushing down the corridor.

"Hey, kid. What's the problem?" Vegeta asked.

Sheepishly, Tategoto crossed his legs and signed, **I have to pee.**

Everybody's eyes got huge, sweatdrops appeared on their heads and they all proceeded to fall over backwards with their feet in the air.

Onion struggled with the rubble that had pinned him down. He was bloody, bruised and his clothes were torn slightly. His sightless eyes were narrowed, he was growling and generally pissed off. "They are all so dead!" He shouted, a vein on his temple standing out. He clenched his fists and started to pummel the rubble from within, unable to see that there was a way out just over his head.

"Onion! You lost them again didn't you!?" Garlic's voice came from above. Onion stopped punching the debris and tilted his head back. The red gem on his forehead shimmered like some demonic eye and a sweatdrop appeared on his temple.

Garlic narrowed his eyes, reached down and yanked Onion out of the debris by his cape. "Stupid boy! How could you let them escape again!?" He leaned back and his foot tapped the ground the way a jackhammer pounds into concrete as he waited for an answer.

"I was outnumbered!" Onion shrieked, "I think that Piccolo may have been with them."

"OK, kid…we'll just go on ahead. You can catch up with us." Vegeta's voice was fading down the corridor.

Growling, Garlic kicked Onion in the stomach with such force that the child flew across the room to slam into a wall. That was when he noticed the mess Vegeta had made when he defeated Relish. He also spotted Tategoto in the distance, urinating by a pillar. A smirk spread across his face as he moved behind a huge pile of debris.

__

This could get interesting after all. He thought. "Onion! Piccolo's kid is not too far away from where you are! Go kick his ass or something. You CAN do that can't you?"

Onion grumbled and peeled himself off the wall. "Yes, DAD." He sneered, turning towards the small power that he was sensing. Had Tategoto been able to hear, he would have known he was being snuck up on. But he still knew something wasn't right.

Ever so slowly, Tategoto finished up and re-arranged his clothes back into place. Then he slowly turned and found himself face to face with Onion. Instantly, he dropped back into a fighting stance, his eyes locked on the demon boy. Onion heard the motion and took on a stance of his own, grinning as the jewel on his forehead glowed slightly in the shadows.

"Brang eet un!" Tategoto said aloud, having long been aware of Onion's blindness.

"Gladly." Onion mouthed, and dashed forward. Tategoto blocked his move and jumped back, flipping his cape over his shoulder. The two circled each other, then Tategoto made a lunge that Onion quickly dodged. The young Namek kicked off the wall, backflipped and kicked the demon into the wall. He laughed when the blue creature fell into the puddle he'd made.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that!" Onion shouted in Tategoto's direction, shaking the liquid off his clothing.

Tategoto dropped back into his stance once again, read Onion's lips and replied with, "Lats guh!" 

Onion stood up and took on his fighting stance, glaring at Tategoto. He lunged, Tategoto lunged, they met in the middle with a bright flash, and their fight officially began.

__

To be continued… 


	19. Silent One: Chapter 19

Author's note: I just couldn't resist and had to put this midi up to go with this chapter because it fits so well with it(I can picture people duking it out to this tune). You are brain damaged if you don't recognize it right away. ;D lol. 

Silent One  
Chapter 19

Onion lunged, Tategoto lunged, the two met in the middle with a blinding flash and went into a serious hit-and-block routine. Tategoto kicked off the wall and flipped backwards with his cape flowing around him as he planted both feet in Onion's chest. The kick sent Onion sprawling with a surprised cry of pain, but he got back up and retaliated by charging. Tategoto soon felt pain shooting through his jaw when Onion's fist collided with it.

"Argh!" He shrieked, kicking the blue-green demon away.

"Onion! You're not concentrating!" Garlic scolded when his son smacked into a pillar, "Keep your ears open!"

Onion didn't answer when he got up. He started to wiggle his fingers, grinning a toothy grin as red orbs of light started to dance around his fingertips. His arms drew back, and Tategoto braced himself with his arms crossed in an X in front of him as several finger darts slammed into him. 

Tategoto was getting angrier by the second, and as his power level was rising with his anger. It didn't take him long to point his palm at Onion and send him sprawling with an invisible blast of wind. Then he seemed to blur out of sight, reappearing over the little demon. Just as before, they started into the rapid hit-and-block routine and the sounds of their fight reverberated throughout the dank corridor.

"Do you think he got lost?" Yasmine asked as Piccolo paced around impatiently while waiting for Tategoto.

He shook his head and spoke dryly, concern hidden somewhere in his voice. "He's smarter then that. Still, he should have been here by now." 

"Could he be in trouble?" Kami suggested, leaning on his wooden stick with a sigh. A few particles of dust fell off from his clothing, which was ripped slightly from the minor scuffles he was in earlier.

Piccolo sneered at the idea and turned his head to Vegeta, "I want you to get these two out of here. I'm going to go back and see what's keeping Tategoto." He looked directly at Kami, "And you. Stay out of this fight." The tall Namekian man flipped his cape over his shoulder, not giving Vegeta or Kami a chance to reply.

Vegeta sneered, brushed a hand over his widow's peak and growled. "Don't order me around!" He sneered over at Kami and Yasmine, "Let's go you two."

Yasmine ignored Vegeta's sharp words and grabbed Piccolo's strong green arm, just above the red ring around his wrist. "Piccolo? Be careful…"

Piccolo turned to face Yasmine when he felt her touch and looked down into her dark eyes. His mind swirled violently, as it always did when she showed gentleness to him, but this time he chose to ignore it for the moment, "You'll be seeing me again when this fight is over." He smirked, "Don't you go worrying about me, Yasmine. I'll be fine."

Impatient to get Yasmine and Kami out so he could join the fight, Vegeta snarled, "C'mon, I don't have all day, you know! Let's get going!"

Kami smiled a bit at Vegeta tapped a wrinkled finger against the side of his wooden walking stick, making a soft tapping noise, "Have patience."

"Shut up, old geezer."

"Suit yourself."

"Humph!"

Yasmine just grinned and rolled her eyes at the argument while she slid her hand away from Piccolo's wrist. As soon as she turned away, Piccolo flipped his cape back and walked into the shadows to go find Tategoto.

Tategoto crashed into a pile of cement as a white orb of light slammed into his stomach and knocked the wind out of him. He stayed down, gasping for breath while Onion flew down and kicked him in the kidneys a few times. Though the kicks hurt, the young Namek didn't allow himself to cry out because he refused to give the demon the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

In a swift, smooth motion, Tategoto helicoptered his legs, kicked Onion right in the groin and flipped to his feet. He grinned wildly when he saw Onion's eyes cross.

"You're going to pay for that!" Onion squeaked, one hand on his sore nether regions while he used the other to point a finger at Tategoto's face. Tategoto slapped the offending finger away from his face and nailed Onion in the nose with a left hook that sent him flying into Garlic.

"ACK!"

"OOF! ONION!!! YOU IMBECILE!!"

"Aieeee!" Getting himself a running start, Tategoto hopped up and hovered several feet above where Onion and Garlic were arguing. Yellow light gathered in his palms, he shouted something without words and proceeded to shower the two demons with rapid-fire ki blasts. "HIIIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!" Each flash of light illuminated his young features, revealing the small cuts and bruises he'd received during the skirmish with Onion.

Garlic and Onion jumped apart as the blasts hit them, and Garlic glared up at the little Namek. Tategoto saw this and shifted his aim to the ceiling. The ceiling collapsed instantly and buried Garlic. Onion was untouched, so he charged up at Tategoto from behind and sent him crashing into a nearby wall. The young Namek retaliated with an elbow to Onion's nose.

A large green hand grabbed Tategoto by the cape and yanked him into the shadows. Tategoto found himself looking up into his father's handsome face, the face that he would someday inherit when he was older.

****

Are you OK? Piccolo signed quickly, speaking the sentence at the same time.

Tategoto nodded, panting, and signed back with slightly bloody hands, **Onion is stronger then he looks.**

You can beat him. Piccolo gestured quickly, then reached one of his slender-fingered hands down to wipe a small amount of blood away from his son's nose, ignoring his attempts to squirm away from being 'mothered'. He gave up when Tategoto pushed his hand away. **Looks like he roughed you up a bit.**

Yes. But I got him back.

The tall Namek smirked with pride, then shifted his gaze to Onion when he saw him moving. He nodded in that direction and Tategoto turned his head to follow his father's gaze. Piccolo started to get up, but Tategoto tugged his cape and shook his head.

****

Onion is mine. With those swift gestures, he flipped his cape over his shoulder and turned, dropping into his fighting stance as Onion got to his feet.

"Stupid little Namek brat! I'm going to _KILL YOU!!!!!!!_" He snarled, turning around to reveal that his tipped up nose was broken and bleeding. Dark red blood was running down his face, into his mouth and all over his clothing. Tategoto just pulled his lower eyelid down, stuck out his tongue and razzed the little demon to egg him on further. It worked, because Onion soon charged to start another rapid hit-and-block routine. It wasn't long before they were moving so fast that they only became visible for a few seconds, but the sound of the battle was far from 'invisible'.

__

That's my boy… Piccolo thought to himself as he watched and listened to the fight, sounds of skin impacting skin, with a smirk of pride spread across his face. _Tategoto…you have learned well._

Onion shrieked angrily and flew under Tategoto's legs. He vanished from sight, reappeared above him and used the eerie red gem in his forehead to guide him as he slammed both fists into the small of Tategoto's back. Tategoto cried out and fell a few feet, flipped over and flew straight back up at Onion with a ball of ki forming in his hand. When his fist impacted with Onion's stomach, it caused Onion to gurgle and spit out a mouthful of blood. Tategoto brought his fist back, brought it down on the top of the little demon's head twice. The first impact rattled Onion's teeth, the second one slammed him down to the ground with a loud crash, and he made a small crater upon landing.

Tategoto hovered above Onion with his arms crossed, a miniature version of his father, as he waited for his opponent to get up. He was about to start charging a finishing blast when an intense red fireball erupted from the rubble where Garlic was. The little Namek turned just in time to see it coming, and his world spun wildly when the blast slammed into him. He was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

Piccolo was about to charge, but then Vegeta crashed down through the hole he'd made when he'd beaten Relish. He saw Tategoto down, Garlic poking out of a pile of cement and Onion out cold in a corner. Without a thought, the Saiyan bent one leg, straightened the other to stop himself in mid air and fired several blasts at Garlic to distract him. Then he dropped down at Tategoto's side.

"Hey, kid! Get up!" He shouted as if he'd be heard while glaring at Garlic.

"Be careful, Vegeta!" Piccolo shouted as he came out of the shadows and took on a stance next to Vegeta, "That little twerp is stronger then he looks." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "If he fires a strong enough blast, it will kill Tategoto, and maybe even us. So keep an eye on his power."

Vegeta's hair swished as he turned his head and nodded to show he understood. He fought the urge to glance down at Tategoto again, and focused his thoughts on the battle. A small laugh escaped his throat and he widened his stance, "Gee, Green Bean, I didn't think you cared."

Piccolo's pointed nose wrinkled as he sneered, "Don't push it."

Tategoto sat up so suddenly that Vegeta and Piccolo nearly jumped apart, but he paid no attention to them. Onion was just getting up too, and the little Namek started to attack him as soon as he was on his feet. Vegeta grinned when he saw that.

__

Damn! He's fired up! He thought, turning his dark eyes back to Garlic. A surge of power rose in the back of his mind and caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. His tongue darted out to moisten his thin lips, which quickly pulled into a typical Saiyan smirk.

Piccolo was as still as a statue, waiting for Garlic to make the first move, but it seemed as if Garlic was doing the same thing. Tense silence stretched on, broken only by the battle between Tategoto and Onion, which was going on at the far end of the corridor.

"Stupid brat!" Onion cried, shooting a white finger blast in Tategoto's face, momentarily blinding him.

"Argh!" Tategoto sputtered as his vision went white for a few seconds. When his sight returned, he saw Onion landing next to Garlic, so he flew down to land between Piccolo and Vegeta. "Loozahs!" He shouted, signing the word at the same time.

Garlic stopped gathering power for a moment to mock being shocked, "Oh my. Did you hear that, Onion? We're LOSERS! Whatever will we do?"

Laughing and flipping his torn-up, dirty cape back, Onion replied, "Let's beat the crap out of 'em!"

Tategoto stuck his middle finger up at Garlic, then dropped back into his stance. He shifted his weight impatiently, amused by the angered expression his gesture had evoked from the demon. Vegeta was smirking and Piccolo was silent as always. 

The air was heavy with the smell of sweat, blood and dust. Loud breathing kept breaking the silence. Hearts pounded to pump more blood and power through strong bodies. Ears and eyes were pricked. Reflexes were on hair triggers.

Garlic finally made the first move by suddenly thrusting both his hands forward to shoot a white beam of ki. The light illuminated his demonic features and created a huge explosion when it collided with the three forms at the other end of the corridor. There was a huge explosion, smoke billowed up everywhere and a ground-shaking rumble roared throughout the area.

When the smoke cleared, three very dirty people came walking out of the rubble and stood with their arms crossed.

"Is that the best you can do?!" Vegeta taunted, "My Grandmother could have thrown a blast stronger then that!"

Garlic grinned maliciously and his eyes glinted, "Oh yes, I can. Onion? Let's do it!" He turned his head to look down at his son.

"Right!" Onion replied.

Both father and son straightened and started to yell as white light erupted around them. Their capes billowed out behind them, light flashed around them and their eyes did strange things. The ground started to rumble as the two demons began to laugh, and their power levels were rising at a phenomenal rate.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!" Garlic was the first to change. With an ear-piercing cry, his skin darkened, his muscles seemed to inflate like balloons and his clothing exploded away from his body as he suddenly doubled in height to become a massive muscle-bound monster.

Tategoto's jaw dropped, Piccolo growled slightly and Vegeta's eyes narrowed.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!" Onion bellowed as his clothing ripped away from his body. His muscles increased in size, and his height soon followed until his head was level with Garlic's chest. The color of his skin darkened last until he looked like a smaller version of his father, and the eerie red gem on his forehead took on a demonic red glow.

Still shocked, Tategoto snapped his mouth shut and stared up at the two huge monsters before him. They looked like something out of his nightmares, and he soon realized that the fight was far from over. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned his head to look up at his father. The two seemed to communicate through the gaze alone, and they both briefly stood down out of their fighting stance.

As if they had rehearsed it a thousand times before, the two Nameks reached for their turbans and removed them. They both took on the same pose to throw their turbans aside in the same direction at the same moment. Simultaneously, Tategoto and Piccolo proceeded to remove their heavy shoulderpads and toss them aside. By luck, Tategoto's smaller cape and turban came to land on top of his father's.

Piccolo and Tategoto looked at each other again, smirked and dropped back into their fighting stances while Vegeta shook his head and chuckled to himself.

Up above ground, Kami was carrying Yasmine away from the battle when he suddenly stopped in mid air and turned to face the direction of the underground castle. His cape rustled and settled against his back as a look of concern etched itself across his age-worn features.

"Kami? What is it?" Yasmine asked.

"Garlic and Onion have powered up."

She laughed out loud in disbelief. "Those puny little things can power up?" 

Kami shook his head and heaved a sigh as he silently wished the three warriors luck. "I can assure you…they aren't very puny anymore…"

Back inside, Piccolo, Tategoto and Vegeta tensed in preparation. Garlic Jr. and Onion started to laugh. Then all five warriors faced each other and prepared to fight.

__

To be continued... 


	20. Silent One: Chapter 20

I'm terribly, terribly sorry to just disappear on you all like I did. I was in a serious car accident that killed my best friend and almost severed both of my hands. It took me this long to rehabilitate enough to use my hands again because I suffered severe nerve damage. I've waited forever to be able to type again. It's slow, but I can do it. So I'm really sorry I just vanished. I feel horrible for leaving you all hanging for years. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I guess I don't blame anyone if they don't want to read any more of this. Finishing this may take a long time, depending on my moods and inspiration. Please be patient with me. 

I hate drunk drivers.   
  
  
  


Silent One   
Chapter 20   
  
Garlic Jr. and Onion snickered as the towered over their opponents. If Tategoto had been able to hear their bone-chilling laughter, he might have lost his nerve. The sight of the suddenly huge monsters scared him something fierce and made him want to hide behind his father, but he fought that urge. 

_My daddy is right here next to me. I can do anything when he is by my side._ The young Namek thought as he watched the looks on Garlic and Onion's faces. Light was falling across the oversized demons, and the jewel on Onion's forehead seemed to glare like some deranged third eye. 

"This is insane!" Vegeta muttered while glaring coldly up at the two beings before him. 

"I know what you mean." Piccolo hissed back and tightened his fists while stealing a glance down at Tategoto. _That's right...face your fears, my son._

Tategoto widened his fighting stance and struggled to slow his pounding heart. His tiny chest heaved, the breath rushing audibly through his nose. Inwardly he cringed as he awaited the oncoming attacks. Onion's fists hurt before, how much worse would they be now? 

The young Namek's apprehension didn't escape Piccolo's notice. He reached down and tapped Tategoto's shoulder. **It will be OK. I won't let anything happen to you.**

**I believe you.** Tategoto signed back. Just then he felt a vibration in the floor and snapped his attention back to Garlic Jr. and Onion. He could easily tell they were gathering their power. Tategoto pulled away from his father and did the same, pulling kinetic energy up from the depths of his being. Piccolo's matching aura joined his, and a moment later, so did Vegeta's. 

Combined, the swirling energies shook the entire stronghold. Bits of rock rained down from above, only to be blown away by the great wind pouring through. Standing in a hurricane would've been less intense than the raw power flowing forth. 

"Onion seems inexperienced as a fighter from what I've seen. Let Tategoto take him, they're on the same level." Piccolo whispered to Vegeta, "You and I, we'll take Garlic Jr. together. It's going to take both of us to knock him back into the Dead Zone." 

Vegeta cast Piccolo a sidelong glance, bristling in his eagerness to fight. To draw blood like a true warrior. "And how do you propose we get him to open this 'Dead Zone'?" 

Piccolo chuckled deep in his throat as a blast of wind ruffled his clothes and blew his antennae back. "Just wait. He opens the portal every time someone pisses him off too much. Thinking he can suck us in. Just don't get sucked in, that's all." He fortified his stance, "Get ready, they're almost done powering up." 

Looking up, Tategoto spotted an opening in Onion's defenses. His head was turned, that meant his gem wouldn't pick up movement. The young Namek quickly charged towards the overgrown demon creature. There was a flash, the sound of a fist hitting skin, and then Onion emitted a surprised cry as he went flying backwards. He landed hard against a pillar. 

Unfortunately, Tategoto forgot to watch out for Garlic Jr. A second later he felt the impact of a large foot against his side. He shot sideways as if blasted from a canon and slammed into a nearby wall, crumbling it. 

"Now!" Piccolo shouted. 

He and Vegeta blurred from view and reappeared on either side of Garlic. 

"WHAT?!" 

A green fist and a boot-clad foot smashed into either side of his face, deforming it almost comically. Garlic's eyes bulged. He caught more movement and ducked just in time. Piccolo and Vegeta soon found themselves dodging a flurry of small bullet-like ki blasts. 

"You're lucky I need you alive to use the Dragon balls, Piccolo!" Garlic Jr. snarled at the green figure hovering above him, "Just you wait, once the dragon grants Onion immortality, nothing will stop us! MWA HA HA!" 

"I'd wish for a smaller mouth if I were you," Vegeta cut in from the left. Garlic pivoted just in time to avoid having his teeth kicked down his throat. He took a swing at Vegeta, but the Saiyan dodged easily.   
  


Kami stopped listening to the story Yasmine was telling him. He turned his age-worn face towards the direction of the underground battle. Less than a second after he did so, the ground started to shake and shudder. He watched cracks snake forward towards his feet. 

" - so Tategoto went over and... Kami? What is it?" 

"I think - " 

A huge shockwave blasted from the area of the fight. Yasmine screamed as the energy tore her right off her feet. She might've flown for miles like a kite if Kami didn't dive to anchor her. She let her breath out as her duffle back slammed into her stomach. He dragged her behind a large pile of old rocks and set her down gently. Yasmine quickly raised a brown hand to dust herself off and breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Thanks...now what's going on?" 

"They're fighting for their lives. And ours." Kami looked up, gripping his wooden stick tightly. He sighed worriedly. "We might have to move again soon." 

Yasmine leaned forward, blinking. "They're going to be OK, aren't they?" 

Rubbing dirt off his wrinkled cheek, Kami faced her and bowed his head, "I hope so. But with Onion around I can't be fully sure of the outcome. We'll have to wait and see." 

She faced the battle again. "Piccolo...Tategoto..."   
  


An unceremonious pile of debris stirred. Rocks and wood fell away as two tiny green hands shoved a heavy plank aside. Tategoto dug himself free with a loud grunt. He sat down on top and panted, glad to have some fresh air. Aside from some bruises, a cut near his left eyeridge and a new hole in each knee of his purple gi, he was fine. Just a bit startled. 

Had the boy been able to hear he would've noticed Onion running up from the left. Luckily, Tategoto caught sight of Onion's shadow and lunged upwards just in time to watch his enemy smash his face against a large stone. 

Onion released an anguished cry of pain and was lucky the rock didn't shove his nasal bones up into his brain. New blood poured down his face like a spray of lightning between clouds. 

"You little brat! Where are you?!" Onion turned his head, trying to locate Tategoto. Tategoto hovered behind Onion with his arms crossed, grinning to show his fangs. He dove forward and kicked him hard in the butt. Onion released a surprised cry and spun to face his opponent. Rage twisted his young face. His body started to glow a mix of red and purple, "Grrr! You'll pay for that!" 

"Jas bing eet!" Tategoto taunted, making the appropriate gesture even though he knew Onion couldn't physically see it. 

Onion bore his teeth in rage. He pressed his palms together and started to power up. 

At that very moment a crash sounded at the far end of the large room. Garlic Jr. crashed hard into a stone wall, which shattered like glass with his impact. He batted Vegeta aside and watched the air for signs of Piccolo's movements. A second later, he grinned and slammed a massive fist forward. 

BAM! 

Piccolo's progress was instantly halted. He bent completely over Garlic's fist and vomited up a mouthful of purplish blood. Piccolo fell to his knees with the wind knocked out of him. Garlic Jr. lifted Piccolo by the head, turned sideways and flung him at a charging Vegeta. 

A sickening crack sounded as two flying bodies slammed into one another. Both crumpled and fell. 

Garlic Jr. rose up over the unceremonious pile of Saiyan and Namek. "I'm disappointed in you two! Where's the challenge?" 

Vegeta sneered up at the overgrown demon and shoved Piccolo's large frame off his legs. He stood to his full height, hair bristling in his annoyed anguish. Piccolo rose to his hands and knees, still struggling to catch his breath. That blow really took a lot out of him. Vegeta curled his lip in contempt. "This isn't working. I should've known better than to ally myself with the likes of you. From here on out I'm fighting my _own_ way." 

Piccolo had no way to stop Vegeta. Not when he couldn't draw in enough breath to speak. He finally regained himself enough to stand, albeit clutching his sore stomach. His sides and chest heaved, veins appearing all over his bald green head. He stared coldly at Garlic Jr. with eyes holding promises of much future pain. If looks could kill... 

A flash of light signified Vegeta's engaging the blue behemoth. Both quickly disappeared into a rapid hit-block routine that reverberated all over the darkened corridor. 

It seemed like forever, but only a few seconds went by before Piccolo could finally draw in a deep breath. He sucked the air greedily, expanding his lungs to their limit and exhaling again. He spat coppery blood onto the ground and jerked his gaze to a sudden flash of blue-white light at the other end of the corridor. 

Smoke rose from the remains of a pillar. Tategoto stood just before it, very glad he'd ducked in the nick of time. Onion's mouth-blast nearly took his head off! Suddenly this whole ordeal wasn't as fun as fun as it started out to be. Small bits of fear found their way into his thoughts. The young Namek assumed his fighting stance without taking his gaze off his enemy. His cocky smirk was missing, replaced by sharp teeth clenched tightly together, and he really wished his father would come over and stand by his side. 

Tategoto saw Piccolo through the corner of his eye. He turned his head to meet his gaze and saw him pointing frantically. 

Too late. 

Onion's fist smashed into Tategoto's jaw. Tategoto's whole face deformed and snapped back into its correct shape, and his head twisted completely to the side. The punch also sent him flying backwards into the rubble where he landed with a loud crash. Had Garlic Jr. himself thrown that punch, Tategoto might've been dead right there. Onion's youth and underdeveloped power were the only two things that saved his life. 

A surprise _Masenko_ from the left knocked Onion away from the destroyed pillar. 

"Back off, brat." Piccolo snarled. He climbed over the debris and crouched down next to Tategoto's inert frame. Piccolo sat Tategoto up and slapped each cheek. "C'mon kid, wake up." 

Tategoto's eyes fluttered and rolled. Another shake brought him around. His eyes snapped open and fixed on Piccolo's dirty, bloody face. He wondered idly if he looked just as beat up. 

**He is stronger than I thought.** The child signed. 

**You can take him.** Piccolo signed back. **Tell me how many fingers you see.** He then held up two fingers and moved them around, watching Tategoto's eyes follow them. 

The child held up two fingers. Piccolo nodded and hauled him to his feet, assured he was OK. Rattled, but OK. He took the opportunity to dust Tategoto's clothes off a bit without really knowing why he bothered. Especially since Tategoto would squirm away and look all embarrassed. 

**Dad, stop it! Garlic Jr. might see this and then he'll laugh at me!**

**Nobody's going to laugh at you, kid.** Piccolo signed back, then spoke, "because if they do, they'll have to answer to me." 

"Are we finished yet?" Vegeta cut in, "There is a FIGHT going on, you know!" 

Garlic Jr. landed nearby, grinning like a cat. "And it's a fight you'll never win! Onion, let's do Rolling Thunder!" 

"On it!" 

Onion and Garlic Jr. clasped hands and began to spin each other around. A power column stretched from floor to ceiling between them, illuminating their demonic faces. The ground trembled. Suddenly they flung the energy pillar straight for the three standing nearby. 

Tategoto, Piccolo and Vegeta scattered. The ki column rolled past to hit the far wall. A deafening crash sounded. The entire place shook and part of the underground castle collapsed on itself. It felt like the whole planet was shaking apart! 

Dust obscured everything when the shaking finally stopped. Grit rained down from pieces of the ceiling. A few larger pieces crashed to the floor, adding to the dusty mess filling the air. Piccolo cracked an eye open in time to see Garlic Jr.'s fist coming at his face. He dropped like a rock. 

"Dah!" Tategoto scrambled towards Piccolo's fallen form. His eyes were only on his father, so it came as no surprise when Garlic Jr. sent him flying off into the darkness. 

Two gloved hands snatched Tategoto from midair. Tategoto twisted his head around to see Vegeta looking down at him. Something in his eyes was different. It reminded Tategoto of a shark in a feeding frenzy. 

**We have to help my dad!**

"Don't worry." Vegeta made sure the boy could see his mouth. "Watch your back!" 

They separated. Onion sailed between them. Vegeta caught him with a hard kick to the gut, making him spit out blood and vomit. Tategoto followed up with an elbow to the forehead. Onion shrieked and dropped. 

Vegeta searched below. "Where's Garlic?" 

"Up here, fools!" 

Vegeta shoved Tategoto aside and flung a massive ki blast the same time Garlic Jr. did. The dual energy beams, one red and the other blue-white, collided in a flair of sparks and shockwaves. 

Tategoto used the opportunity to land beside Piccolo. He grabbed his shirt and shook him. Piccolo's head rolled and his eyes fluttered, but he didn't quite make it around. Tategoto slapped his face a few times the way he'd been slapped around earlier. "Dah! Wakkup dah!" When that didn't work, he shook him harder. No response. He started to get scared.   
  


Kami stopped walking for the millionth time in ten minutes. He planted his wooden stick in the soil. Tiny, tiny tremors raced up the wood. He lifted it again and shook his head and glanced over his shoulder at Yasmine. "I don't like how this feels." 

Yasmine, sweating slightly from all the walking in the sun, came up by his side. "What's happening now?" 

"Garlic and Vegeta are having a power struggle." A few sweat droplets gathered in the creases on Kami's brow. "I can't sense Onion. Piccolo's hurt, but Tategoto is okay." 

"Piccolo's hurt?" She grabbed his arm, "How badly? Can you tell?" 

"He's unconscious at the moment, but he'll live. Tategoto will take good care of him until he comes around." 

Yasmine brushed her hair back and stared at the ground. Her brown forehead wrinkled. _But who's taking care of Tategoto? Oh I hope he and Piccolo and that other guy will be okay!_   
  


"Mmh..." Piccolo moaned, baring his teeth at the pain throbbing in his skull. What a punch! 

The ground shuddered. Chunks of pillar and ceiling crashed around the two Nameks. Frightened, Tategoto looped two arms under Piccolo's armpits and dragged him under the cover of fallen debris, which was braced under a broken pillar. "Dah, wakkup!" 

Piccolo moved around a little more. First his legs, then his arms. Finally his eyes slid open to fix on his son's wide-eyed face. He signed sluggishly, **I'm okay.**

The younger Namek clapped his hands in delight. He tugged Piccolo's shirt to make him sit up and proceeded to dust him off. As if to get him back for the same action earlier. Piccolo actually chuckled at that. "Point taken." 

Another earthquake struck, forcing him to peep out from under the rocky debris. Onion was still out cold on the ground below. Dust partially shrouded his dark shape. The beam Garlic Jr. and Vegeta wrestled with grew brighter. Pretty soon it would explode and there was no way of knowing what the blast would do. 

Piccolo tapped Tategoto's arm to get his attention. **This could get ugly. Stay close to me.**

Tategoto nodded and huddled up against Piccolo's side. He buried his face in his shirt and clung to him. **I'm getting scared.**

**Don't worry, kid, I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. **Piccolo easily remembered the last time he made such a promise - he'd kept it. And he'd keep it again. He slipped an arm around Tategoto to keep him close and fixed his dark eyes on the unstable energy beams.   


_To be continued..._


End file.
